


Results Inconclusive

by CoffeeAndSleepDeprivation



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), Divergent (Movies), Divergent - All Media Types, Divergent Series - Veronica Roth
Genre: Amanda (Detroit: Become Human) Being an Asshole, Angst, Badass North (Detroit: Become Human), Canon-Typical Violence, Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Siblings, Connor Deserves Happiness, Crossover, Dauntless Faction Initiation, Dauntless are a lil bit stupid, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Siblings, Elijah Kamski Being Elijah Kamski, Erudite are hiding something, Erudite thinks they hold all the cards, Everyone swears, Found Family, Gavin Reed Being Less of an Asshole, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Major Character Injury, Major Original Character(s), Major character death - Freeform, Minor Original Character(s), Multi, Original Character Death(s), Slow Burn, Tagging as I go, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name, dauntless cake, no beta we die like men, they do not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:21:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 44,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26488609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoffeeAndSleepDeprivation/pseuds/CoffeeAndSleepDeprivation
Summary: It was simple. Take the test, choose your faction, live your life.Simple.But things got less simple with two words.Results Inconclusive.Divergent Book 1 completed (Chapt 15)!UPDATED 2/5/21: On break!!! Will return soon!!Will return for Saturday updates!
Relationships: Carl Manfred & Markus, Connor & North (Detroit: Become Human), Connor/Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Hank Anderson & Connor, Josh & Markus & North & Simon (Detroit: Become Human), Josh & Markus & Simon (Detroit: Become Human), Tina Chen & Chris Miller & Gavin Reed, Tina Chen & Gavin Reed, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 17
Kudos: 55





	1. Out The Back

When Connor woke up that morning the first thing he did was take in the smells. Before he even opened his eyes he knew his parents were already working, mixing sweet smelling chemicals in beakers to make better bio components for new machines. He could smell the eggs and toast Richard was making for his own breakfast. Connor never expected him to make him anything since by the time he was up Richard was usually out the door. He could smell the usual potent smell of disinfectant that seeped into everything in the Erudite main tower. The last thing he could smell was the lingering smell of a flowery scented detergent on his bedsheets. 

He slowly pushed the dark blue covers away from him and sat on the edge of his bed, stretching his arms high over his head and popping his knuckles. He let his feet touch the cold porcelain white floor and a shiver ran through his body. He wished he could just stay in his pajamas but his parents would never allow it. So instead he peeled off his blue T-shirt and gray sweatpants and traded them for a pastel blue button down shirt with half sleeves and a pair of matching blue pants. He looked in the mirror, making sure he’d properly tucked in his shirt so his parents wouldn’t scold him. He always left the top button undone to his parents dismay.

He ran a hand through his brown curls and decided to let them do what they wanted today instead of brushing them into submission. His mother had cut his hair the night before so it was already rather nice. Once he’d finally determined his appearance was as good as it was going to get, he grabbed a coin from his nightstand and slipped it into his pocket. He has a habit of dancing it across his knuckles when he gets anxious or bored. A nervous habit of his that he’d tried to break. In the end his mother decided it was better than him biting his nails or tapping his foot so she let him keep it. 

As he stepped out of his room, he found Richard hadn’t left yet and was instead sitting at the table reading a book. Connor came and leaned over his shoulder. 

“What’s your book of choice today?”

Richard turned a page,”Something called Star Wars. One of mom’s favorite fiction books. She said I looked bored. I’m not entirely sure what’s happening but it’s interesting.”

Connor ruffled his twin’s hair before walking away to make his own eggs and toast,”Whatever you say, Richard.”

As he cracked his second egg, his parents came in from their lab. They draped their coats over chairs and dropped their goggles on the table. 

“Good morning, Richard, Connor,”Colin said, opening a file on his tablet and starting to read. 

“Good morning, father,” the twins said in unison. 

“Are you both excited for your aptitude tests today?”their mother said with a smile. 

Richard shrugged,”I suppose.”

Connor looked over with a smile,”I am.”

“Good to hear,”Colin said, looking up from his work. 

Connor finished cooking and brought his food over to sit next to Richard. They had to leave in about ten minutes if they wanted to be on time. They didn’t need any school books today since they’d be taking the aptitude test. They would be going for an hour and then never coming back to school again. Connor couldn’t wait to never have to step foot in that building again. He finished the last bites of egg and took his dishes to the sink. Colin and Samantha insisted on hugs before they left since today was so important. They closed the door and both took off toward the stairs to parking. 

“I call driver!” Richard said as they approached the car  
.  
“No fair! I always get shotgun!”

“Get faster!”Richard said as he closed himself into the driver’s seat. 

Connor sat down with a huff. The car was autonomous anyway but he still wanted his chance driving it. It didn’t really matter anyway. If he was lucky this was his last time in an Erudite car. Sure he loved his family and he really did enjoy learning but he’d be lying if he said it was what he wanted to do the rest of his life. Hopefully today changed all that.

—-

Connor stepped forward and found himself staring at a wall of his own reflection. He glanced to the left to see Richard also looking at him. This test determined their entire future. The government said that they had the freedom to choose what faction they belong to but they recommend following the results of the test. Once you choose a faction there’s no going back. 

There was a gust of cool air as a door opened and he stepped through as everyone else did. Inside was a completely white room with one wall of mirrors and a chair in the center. The chair was covered in devices he new measured blood pressure, heart rate, brain activity, and breathing. There was someone standing at the counter dressed in a black T-shirt and pants. A normal dauntless outfit. Connor noticed the infinity symbol tattooed on their arm. 

The person standing at the metal counter beside the chair didn’t look at him,”Take a seat.”

Connor did as instructed and they turned to him, a cup full of a clear liquid in their hand. They set it down on a tray before attaching several monitors to his arms and head. 

“My name is Jay I’ll be your administrator. I’m assuming you already know the drill. I’m going to give you the serum, you’re going to enter the simulation and react accordingly. Do whatever you feel you need to within the simulation. Ready?”

Connor gave a sharp nod, tension building in his chest, suddenly very aware of what was about to happen. Jay nodded and handed him the glass. Connor took a deep breath and tipped the tasteless liquid into his mouth. The effects were instantaneous. Connor closed his eyes and opened them in the same room but he was alone. He stood from the chair and before he could react it was gone. He was on some kind of roof. There was a girl standing on the edge. She looked scared. There had to be a way to get her down safely. 

She looked at Connor,”I’m scared!”

“It’s okay! You’re okay!,”Connor didn’t know why he said that but it seemed the right answer. 

She tried to step away from the edge but a crack formed under her feet. She was too far and this roof seemed too unstable for him to get to her. She looked out over the ledge and Connor saw her balance faulter for a moment. 

“Look at me! Don’t look out there look at me!”

She looked at him. What could he do?

The building began to crumble faster under his own feet. They were both going to fall if he wasn’t fast! 

Snap

They weren’t going to fall. Something inside Connor knew that. He didn’t know what but he just knew it. 

This isn’t real. 

Connor took a step towards the girl, the ground cracking with each step. He took a deep breath and ran towards her getting closer. And closer. He reached out to her and she ran forward to him. And through him. No sooner did her body collide with his than Connor found himself alone again. He was in a garden. To his right was a pillar with a gun on it and to his left a piece of meat. A woman he knew to be the leader of Erudite stood in the middle. 

“Choose.”

Connor looked between them,”Why?”

“Just choose!”

Connor stood silent for a moment but before he could come up with an answer she said,”Suit yourself,”and disappeared along with the items. 

Connor turned around twice before seeing an abnormally large dog in front of him where Amanda Stern once stood. Connor took a shaky intake of breath. What does he know about dogs. If you stare into their eyes they take it as a challenge. If you run they will pursue. This dog looked much faster and probably stronger than him. It growled and Connor dropped his eyes to the ground, staring at the gravel path. The dog barked at him again. What would show the dog he was passive? Connor pursed his lips and closed his eyes before dropping to his knees. He heard the dog bark and start running. Connor placed his hands open palms up on his lap, not daring to open his eyes. But nothing happened. He opened his eyes to find himself sitting in a pitch black room. There was a man sitting across from him holding a picture. He was dressed in Candor attire and looked tired. 

He held the picture out towards Connor,”Have you seen my daughter?”

As Connor looked closer at the picture he realized it was the girl from the beginning. But she was wearing gray abnegation clothes. Or was she? Maybe he couldn’t tell. But what if this man wasn’t her father. What if he was lying? But he’s from Candor he has to tell the truth. 

No matter what you say it doesn’t matter. He isn’t real. 

He nodded carefully despite his doubts. And the man disappeared. The room slowly turned from pitch black to bright white with every passing breath. Connor quickly sat up awake. He could hear the incessant beeping of the monitors going crazy, the sounds matching the racing in his head. He took a few deep breaths and saw Jay’s face sheet white. No sooner did he open his mouth to speak than they were ripping off every monitor and pulling him out of his chair. 

“You’re going out the back right now before anyone comes in.”

Connor stumbled with them,”Wait what were my results?”

“It doesn’t matter, Connor, what matters is you need to go home and tell anyone who asks the test made you sick. Got it?”

They shoved him towards a door.

“Wait I need to know!”Connor exclaimed. 

Jay looked him over with a firm gaze,”Erudite.”

Connor’s heart dropped.

“And Dauntless. And Abnegation. And Candor.”

And?

“What do you mean and?”

Jay hesitated,”Your results are inconclusive. They call it divergent. It means you’re different. You match more than one faction. You can’t tell anyone about this or they’ll kill you.”

“What do I do at the Choosing tomorrow?”

“I don’t know! Pick! Just don’t tell anyone not even your family. If they ask the test-“

“Made me sick, " he interrupted.

Jay nodded before opening the back door and shoving him out, locking it behind him. 

Jay’s words kept replaying in his mind. 

They call it divergent.


	2. Honest Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following Markus' aptitude test.

It was a long time before they called Markus’ name for his aptitude test. His palms were sweaty and he kept rubbing them on his pants to dry them off. When they did he approached the room with far more caution than he probably should have. He saw himself in the mirrored hallway, his black pants and white shirt showing his proud status as a Candor. He took special pride in being the adopted son of Carl Manfred, the leader of Candor. After stopping for a second in front of the mirror, he watched the door open for him to step in and take his aptitude test. A woman from abnegation, who introduced herself as Faith, said he could take a seat and she’d explain the procedure. He took a seat and tuned out her rehearsed speech about the test. He already knew what happened. Eventually, she handed him a glass of clear fluid. It was supposed to be tasteless but it was sour as Markus swallowed it. 

He blinked and was standing on a long crane over looking a boat. There was a little girl trying to keep her balance on the end. Markus took a step toward her and the beam faltered. The little girl screamed as she started to fall. Markus couldn’t let her fall. He ran as fast as he could and grabbed her hand just as she went out of reach. If he let go, they both fell. If he let go of her, she fell. They were hanging over a hole in the ship. There’s a chance there would be something at the bottom. There was a ledge not far at all from where the girl was hanging. If he could get her over there, he could let go without risking the girl. 

It’s just a simulation it doesn’t matter what happens to me. 

“Alright do you see that ledge?”

The little girl looked up at him with tear streaked eyes and nodded. 

“I’m going to get you over there, okay?”

She nodded again. Markus carefully moved his arm to help her gain momentum before letting her go just above the ledge. She screamed as she fell but she landed safely on the ledge. Once she did, Markus simply let go and fell into the hole. He could see the ground rapidly approaching but before he hit it, he found himself in the middle of a street. Snow dusted the ground and a woman stood in between two pillars. 

“Choose.”

On one pillar was a knife while on the other was a jar of peanut butter. 

Markus looked between the two pillars before saying “Both.”

The woman look displeased,”Choose one.”

“This is my simulation and I choose both.”

She scowled but Markus found both items in his hands a second later. The woman disappeared, in her place stood a dog. It was much too big to be a normal dog. It saw Markus and immediately ran at him. Markus quickly opened the jar of peanut butter and held it out to the animal. It stopped in front of the jar and became calm when it started licking the sweet contents. He set the jar down on the ground for the dog and seconds later felt an arm grab around his neck. He couldn’t see his attacker so he blindly turned the knife and stabbed where he hoped was a body. He never saw who attacked him because next thing he found he was sitting in front of a man. 

“Have you seen my daughter?”

He was wearing Candor colors and holding a picture of the girl from before. However, from his demeanor and knowing the girl Markus saw in the beginning was abnegation, he didn’t believe what he asked. 

“No I haven’t.”

The man’s face turned to one of anger,”You’re lying! I know you are! You can save my daughter just tell me where she is!”

Markus stayed quiet and ensured the yelling. He shouldn’t lie. But this man might want to hurt her and he can’t let that happen. 

“I’m sorry but I don’t know who that is.”

His eyes blinked open and he found himself alone in the test room. He looked around for Faith but she was nowhere to be seen. Markus say up, rolling his neck and feeling the pop. He heard another door slide open and Faith entered the room. She gently took his hand and led him to a back door. 

“Markus, I need you to listen very carefully. Your test results came back inconclusive.”

Inconclusive?

“I know you have a lot of questions but I can’t answer them right now. What you need to know is you tested positive for Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite, and Amity.”

No Candor?

“You’re probably wondering why not Candor and that’s because you lied at the end of the test. You chose to protect the girl instead of telling the truth.”

She paused. 

“Markus, you’re what people call Divergent. You can’t tell anyone, not even your family, about this. I’m going to send you out the back door. I let you go through the full test to kill time so you wouldn’t leave too early. I’ve reported your results as Abnegation in the computer. Be careful, Markus and remember, you can’t tell anyone.”

Markus nodded and just before he left he said,”Why are you helping me?”

She just smiled,”Because I don’t believe you’re as dangerous as Ms. Stern says you are. And it’s my duty to help people.”

And with that the door closed behind him. Markus made his way home, his mind still processing everything he’d just learned. He was so lost in thought he didn’t realize when he’d made it back to the Candor building. He silently made his way upstairs to his dad’s house. He passed a hundred people in simple black and white like him and the more he saw it the more he became disgusted by the colors he wore. They were fake. They were hiding him. He wasn’t even a little Candor according to that test. As soon as he walked in the door he saw his dad, working on making dinner for them. 

“Afternoon, Markus!”

Markus managed a smile and said,”Hi, dad.”

“So I know you can’t tell me what happened but how’d the test go.”

Awful. “Fine.”

Maybe he wasn’t set out for Candor. He lied far too easily. 

Markus expected the thought to be reassuring but it only made him feel worse. He supposed his discomfort shows on his face because Carl looked at him before turning off the stove and wheeling his way over to the table.

“Sit, Markus.”

Markus hesitantly day at the table across from Carl. 

“I know I’m not allowed to ask about your results but I just want you to know, I won’t be angry if you choose to leave Candor. And that’s the honest truth.”

Carl was a firm believer in the ideals of Candor that the truth was better than a lie and Markus knew this was no different. Carl meant what he said. 

Carl continued before Markus could respond,”I know you so well, Markus. I know you’ve always tried your best to be truthful. I also know you haven’t always kept to that honesty. So when you choose tomorrow, I want you to choose for yourself. Not for me. If you choose to leave Candor, I wish you well and I hope to see you again someday. I will love you all the same no matter your choice.”

Carl reached out and took Markus’ hand,”But if you Choose Dauntless, say hi to Leo for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So first off I'm still trying to figure out the formatting of this whole thing so I'm sorry if it's a little inconsistent. Secondly, I don't know how often in going to follow Markus but there will be at least a few times and I'll put it inn the chapter summary. Lastly I'm not very good at chapter summaries so please excuse how trash they are :) Hope you all enjoyed more chapters coming soon!


	3. Faction Before Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The choice that decides the rest of your life.  
> So you choose for your family?  
> Or for yourself.

Even though the serum making Connor sick was a lie he told Richard, he felt like he was going to be sick anyway. His stomach was churning. His parents had mentioned Divergence before. They believed Abnegation was harboring Divergents and had been very vocal in their hatred of them. Connor bit his lip as he sat at the dinner table, playing with his food instead of eating it. 

“Are you okay, Con?” His mother asked from across the table. 

Connor shrugged,”Just got a lot on my mind.”

They fell silent again before Samantha broke the silence,”You know my friend Chloe?”

“Elijah’s girlfriend? Yeah.”

“Apparently when she was done administrating tests, she found out one of the tests had to be reported verbally because the student got sick and was sent home early. Did you guys hear anything about that?”

“No,”Richard said, flatly. 

So he didn’t get Candor either.

Connor shook his head, finally taking a bite of his cold food so he wouldn’t have to speak. Richard promised him to keep his secret even if the secret was a lie. He stomached a few more bites of food before giving up. 

Colin stood and took his sons plates,”We’ll take care of this. You boys go get some sleep.”

Samantha kissed Connor’s forehead before he stood. He walked down the hall to his room and gently closed the door before falling back into his bed with a groan. He knew he wasn’t staying in Erudite and he wasn’t going to Candor. That left Abnegation and Dauntless. The selfless or the courageous. All he knew was tonight was his last night sleeping in this bed. His last night where he was sure he’d see Richard. He should talk to him. He should tell him. He can trust Richard. 

They’ll kill you.

Jay’s words rang in his ears. He couldn’t tell Richard. As much as he wanted to believe he could trust his brother he didn’t know for sure. There was a knock on his door. 

“Come in.”

Richard slowly came into his room. Think of the devil. His brother sat down on the bed next to him. 

“You doing okay?”

Connor flung his hands over his head with a groan. 

“So no?”

Connor sat up,”I just... I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“I know.”

They sat in silence for a minute. 

Richard sighed,”So what were your results?”

“We aren’t allowed to say, remember.”

Richard shrugged,”Just trying to lighten the mood.”

Connor nodded. 

“Look. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow and I know we’re supposed to focus on the whole faction before blood thing but I’ll always be there for you, okay? If you ever need me come find me.”

Connor gave him a smile before Richard hugged him and left. 

—-

The tension in the air was unbearable as they approached the Hub. Everyone in Chicago was present. As they entered they saw Amanda Stern talking to Carl Manfred and his son. Connor followed his parents to the Erudite section where they took their seats towards the front. Connor looked down at the coin he was spinning over his knuckles. He was so lost in thought he didn’t notice he was being spoken to until Richard jabbed him in the side. He was about to retaliate when he saw someone looking at him. 

“Connor? My name is Elijah. Elijah Kamski.”

Connor shook his extended hand,”I know.”

Elijah smirked,”It’s very nice to meet you. Your parents have told me a lot about you. I hope to be working with you someday.”

Connor offered him a smile but already knew that he wouldn’t get the chance though it would be an honor to work with the youngest genius in Erudite. The young man stepped back and took a seat in the first row, ready to welcome the new Erudite members. Samantha planted a kiss on each of her sons’ foreheads and Colin squeezed their hands. 

“We love you and we hope to see you soon,”he said releasing their hands. 

Soon, a woman stepped out onto the stage. She was wearing the telltale gray colors of Abnegation and had blue and black box braids falling down her back. Connor new her name was Lucy and that she was one of the most influential leaders in their society. 

“Today, our next generation will be choosing their factions. You will no longer be dependents, but fully fledged members of society. When your name is called please approach the table. There you will make your choice.”

They called each name in reverse alphabetical order by last name. Richard would go before him. They made their way through the Ps, Os, Ns, and Ms. 

“Manfred, Markus.”

Connor watched as the boy from Candor stood, squeezing his father’s shoulder. They were sitting in the front row so it didn’t take long for him to reach the table. The city watched as he cut into his hand with the silver knife. He looked between each of the bowls. Glass for Candor, soil for Amity, water for Erudite, smooth stones for Abnegation, and hot coals for Dauntless. Markus’ hand hovered over Dauntless for a moment before shifting to Abnegation. He hesitated before finally tipping his palm over the bowl of water. A drop of blood fell into the bowl and Lucy’s voice rang out. 

“Erudite.”

Markus turned back to the crowd to see the see of blue calmly clapping. He was handed a bandage for his hand and as he pressed it to the cut he passed a glance to his father. Carl was smiling at him with sad eyes. 

Connor watched him take a seat in the front row. The letters between M and F seemed to go rapidly and before he knew it he heard the name called. 

“Fair, Richard.”

Connor looked at his brother who stood and carefully made his way to the bowls. He seemed so sure in his decision as he cut his hand and immediately dropped the blood into the bowl of hot coals. 

“Dauntless.”

The sea of black roared and cheered as their newest member took a seat in the front. Connor glanced at his parents who were staring with wide eyes. 

“Fair, Connor.”

He carefully stood and moved past his parents. Each step felt heavier than the last. He approached the center and was handed the silver knife. His hand stung as he pressed the sharp blade to his flesh. He watched the dark blood pool in his palm and he looked from bowl to bowl. His hand hovered over Erudite. The easy choice. The choice to stay. He moved to Abnegation. The safe choice. A choice to leave. He almost let the blood fall but quickly moved his hand to Dauntless and dropped the crimson liquid over the coals. 

“Dauntless.”

The cheering began again and he was handed a bandage and given a seat next to his brother who clapped him on the shoulder with a smile. He listened to the rest of the names in a daze. He’d done it. He’d actually done it. He’d defected. And Richard had done the same! Suddenly the names stopped and people rose to leave. The Dauntless around him pushed and shoved towards the exits. Once they were out, they started running. 

Connor found himself grinning from ear to ear as he ran side by side with his new faction members. He followed the group and found them running towards the train. The people in front of him were shouting and laughing as they climbed the metal pillars. Connor grabbed hold of a rung and climbed after. He saw Richard do the same and they shared a look. They hadn’t done anything quite like this since they were little kids. When they reached the top they noticed the others start running and followed suit. 

They soon found themselves running alongside the train. Richard reached out and a hand grabbed his own and pulled him in. Connor reached out and grabbed a hand rail, his shoes skidding against the ground for a second as he lifted himself in. With a small laugh he collapsed against the floor next to a woman. She was smiling as well. 

“I’m North."

“Connor.”

She brushed a few stray hairs back into her ponytail,”No matter how many times I do it, it never gets old.”

She pushed herself up from the floor and offered him a hand. He took it and she pulled him up. She clasped a hand in the doorframe and leaned out. 

“Get ready.”

Connor looked at her confused,”Ready for what?”

She smirked at him before taking a running leap out of the train and landing on the rooftop. Connor’s jaw dropped before he took a deep breath and followed suit, hearing Richard call after him. For a second he thought he wouldn’t make the gap but then his feet hit the gravel and he lost his balance and fell. He took a second to catch his breath before laughing again, North joining him in his laughter. Connor saw Richard jump and land a few yards away. 

A man called from ahead,”Alright initiates gather round!”

The group of teens gathered around three men and a woman. One of the men was standing precariously on the ledge of the roof. 

“My name is Gavin. I’m one of your instructors. This is Tina,” he gestured to the woman on his right, “and Leo,” to the man on his left, ”Now one by one you are going to step up to the ledge and jump.”

There was a collective murmur. Was there something at the bottom? Or was Dauntless about to force all it’s new members to commit suicide. 

North leaned over to him,”We just jumped and now we have to jump again?”

Connor shrugged before a boy in the front of the group spoke up, “What’s at the bottom?”

Gavin gave the group an evil looking smile, “Guess that’s for you to find out.”

Everyone fell silent. 

Gavin looked over all the initiates, “Well someone has to go first, who’s it going to be?”

No one spoke up. Connor had to think logically. Why would Dauntless willingly send all its recruits to their death? There had to be something at the bottom. Still no one spoke up. 

“Me,” the single word that came out of Connor’s mouth sounded a lot more confident that he actually was. 

Gavin stepped off the ledge and stood with his arms crossed. Connor carefully made his way to the ledge and stepped up. He took two deep breaths before stepping off the ledge and falling. He didn’t yell only because it was over so quick. He rapidly fell through a hole and in seconds found himself in a large net. Immediately all his nerves dispersed and he found himself laughing. The moment didn’t last though because someone tipped the net for him to roll off. The man who’s face he saw was older than the probably still teenage guys who were up on the roof. He took the hand he was offered and got off the net. 

“What’s your name?”

Connor stumbled for a second, temporarily forgetting the answer to such an easy question,”My name is Connor.”

There was a second of silence before the man turned around,”First jumper, Connor!”

There were much louder cheers than at the Choosing and he found several people gave him high fives. He watched as the next person, Richard, fell through the roof and into the net. The guy at the net leaned over and asked him the same question and Richard hesitated. The guy told him something else and Richard answered. 

“Second jumper, Nines!”

Nines? Really?

“So they told you to pick a name and you went with that stupid nickname I used to call you as a kid?”

“Yep. Kinda panicked but I did always like that nickname. It sounded badass.”

They watched as the rest of the group jumped finally ending in Gavin, Leo, and Tina. Once everyone was down, the four of them; Gavin, Leo, Tina, and the guy who helped him off the net, gathered the group up. 

“Alright my name is Hank. I’m another one of your instructors and I’m one of the leaders of Dauntless. Dauntless born initiates, follow Ghost,” he pointed at a woman with long brown hair, “Transfers follow Leo.”

North squeezed Connor’s shoulder as they separated. Gavin and Tina walked down another hallway, leaving the group behind. Instead they followed Leo who showed them to an extremely thin stone walkway looking out over what he called the Pit. It reminded Connor of the common areas in Erudite only a lot messier. They followed the walkway up to another hallway. Leo pointed out the hallways to the dining room, training room, and simulation rooms before turning down another hallway. They came into an open room that was lined with rows of beds. 

Leo walked to the center, “This is where you’ll be sleeping for the next few months.”

Someone in the back spoke up, “Boys or girls?”

“Both.”

There was an audible groan from a few people. Leo then gestured to the open room in the back. 

“There’s your bathrooms.”

Everyone could see there were no stalls and everything was completely open. 

“Get changed and then get something to eat,” Leo said before leaving the initiates. 

Everyone cautiously got changed, most people using their old clothes to cover themselves as they did. North came in and took a bed next to Connor’s. Apparently Dauntless born could stay with family or the initiates and most of them chose the latter. Once Connor and Nines were changed she led them to the dining room. It was more like the school cafeteria. Tables in rows across the room, everyone talking so loud you could hardly think. No more than one empty seat at a table. It was quite the dining room. Nines noticed a few seats by that instructor, Gavin, and another man. 

He pulled out a seat and went to sit when Gavin grabbed it, “What makes you think you can sit here, initiate?”

Nines stared at him with just as much intensity, “The seat wasn’t in use. I decided I wanted to sit here. What makes you think I can’t sit here, instructor?”

There was a level of sarcasm in Nines’ voice on the last word that made Connor smirk. This would be fun to watch. 

“I see the Erudite with a stick up his ass has got some balls.”

“And I see the instructor who looks like a twelve year old has quite a tongue.”

Gavin grit his teeth for a second before laughing, “Alright, initiate, cool off. I’m just screwing with you.”

Gavin took his hand off the chair and Nines sat down. Connor and North sat across from him. 

“What’s your name, initiate?”

“Nines.”

Gavin and Nines got lost in their own conversation while Connor and North turned to getting food. There was another initiate sitting across from them. He had blonde hair and wasn’t wearing the same generic initiate uniform meaning he was Dauntless born like North. He noticed Connor looking at him and gave him a smile. 

“My name is Daniel.”

“I'm Connor.”

Daniel looked at North, “And that one I know.”

She rolled her eyes, “Obviously.”

Daniel and North were apparently sort of friends for most of their lives and now they actually had to get to know each other. They talked about whatever came to mind from the jump to the initiation to the clothes. The food was pretty standard, just hamburgers, but at least Connor could eat as much as he wanted. As they were finishing up they saw a man, about Hank’s age, approach a railing on a balcony above them. Everyone started banging their metal cups against the table in a sort of drum roll. 

The man held up a hand to silence everyone before speaking, “Initiates, stand.”

They stood and watched as about forty other people did the same. 

“You have chosen to join Dauntless. The faction that protects the others. We are warriors. We believe in ordinary acts of bravery and the courage that makes one person stand up for another. Do us proud.”

The Dauntless sitting clapped and cheered before standing to join the initiates. It was a surprise when the first person bent down to lift Connor up. In seconds the initiates found themselves being passed over the heads of others to loud cheers. Everyone was laughing and smiling. Connor let out a shout of his own. His first day at Dauntless and he could already tell it was going to be a hard initiation but if this is what Dauntless life was like, he could definitely get used to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I might have ironed out the formatting issues!  
> So let's talk about the story. First I hope this chapter surprised a few of you. I won't say much so I don't give any of my plans away but big things are coming. As you might have noticed I had to come up with some type of last name for Connor and Nines (I can finally call him that!) for obvious reasons. I also hope you guys don't mind the longer chapter length. I'm hoping the chapters from here on out will be around this length since I started with two short chapters. I have the next chapter written but depending on how fast I write from here I might change to weekly updates rather than daily. But anyways, I hope you all enjoyed and I'm excited to share what I have planned!  
> Drop a comment or a kudos if you enjoyed!! <3


	4. First Jumper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day of training for Connor

There was a loud banging from the doorway as Gavin rapped a spoon against a pan. 

“Get dressed, initiates! Meet in the pit in five minutes.”

Connor rubbed the sleep from his eyes before reaching for his clothes. No one spoke so the only noise was the scraping of shoes on cement and the creaking of metal springs. Everyone was too tired to hold up a conversation. But once a few people were finished getting ready the chatter ensued. As they slowly trickled out to the pit the quiet chatter turned to a dull roar of conversation. The pit was mostly empty save for Hank, Gavin, and Leo. Connor yawned and cracked his knuckles in front of him. 

“Alright, rookies. Today is your first day of training. This is the leaderboard,” he pointed to a board glowing with all of their names, “As you train your progress and failures will move you up or down on the leaderboard. Dauntless born are ranked separately however you will all train together. Your spot on the board will determine who moves up in Dauntless.”

“It will also determine who gets cut,” Gavin said, joining the group, “If your name is in the red at the end of the physical training, you’re out.”

Hank turned to him, grabbing his arm, “You didn’t tell me about that.”

“It’s a new rule. Fowler says we can’t have slackers.”

Hank scowled at him before releasing his arm. The red line divided the top fifteen from the bottom six. 

“Training starts today.”

—-

North and Connor found they worked well as fight partners. Connor was a natural. Picked up on skills almost instantaneously. He deflected punches just as fast as North could throw them. But, she could do the same. They moved in more of a dance than a sloppy sparring match. After a few minutes of blocking each other, they decided it might be more beneficial to find new partners. 

Connor looked for Nines and found him fighting Gavin. They seemed a perfect match up as well. Nines took more than a few hits from Gavin but managed to deliver a few of his own to the Dauntless instructor. It was only a matter of time, though, before Gavin managed to pin Nines to the ground, a knee on his chest and his hands holding Nines’ arms down. Nines conceded defeat and the instructor helped him up. 

“Gotta watch your legs. I took you down easily when I realized you weren’t defending them. If someone were to find a way to knock you off your feet when you weren’t prepared, you’re done for.”

Nines nodded, wiping his bloody lip on his shirt. Gavin stepped off the raised platform and went to stand with Leo. Connor stepped up to join his brother. 

“You up for a round or do you need a break?”

Nines smirked, “Against you? Doesn’t sound like much of a match.”

Connor raised his eyebrows in mock offense, “Well then, it’s on.”

They both took up a stance, Connor’s more defensive and rooted while Nines was lighter on his feet, poised to strike. Connor passed glances between Nines feet, watching for a sudden movement, and his face. From the minute of fighting Connor had watched he knew his brother took a sharp inhale before each offensive move. He tried to tune out the sound of everyone else and listen for Nines’ breathing. The second he heard that sharp inhale he ducked out of the way and threw a jab at Nines’ back.

He caught him off guard and Connor grabbed him around his chest and tried to push him down. Instead, Nines threw his weight forward as hard as he could and managed to pull Connor over his shoulder and dropped him onto the floor. Connor rolled before Nines could pin him and wrapped his arms around the back of Nines’ knees and pulled. Nines fell and hit the ground hard on his back. Connor tried to pin him down but Nines reached up and tried to push him off. He managed to pull his feet under him and half stand. He grabbed Connor by his shoulders and brought his knee up to his stomach. Connor felt the wind go rushing out of his lungs and he tried to get away but Nines has too good a grip on him. Instead he managed to put his weight on his left arm and used his right to punch Nines in the chest. He caught him off guard and Nines lost his grip and stumbled back. Connor once again reached for Nines’ legs and pulled, Nines falling onto his back. Connor grabbed each of his brother’s wrists and pinned them down, using right leg to pin down Nines at his knees. Nines tried to push him off for a moment before dropping his head back against the ground and smiling. 

“Damn two losses in a row.”

Connor got off him and helped him up, “Honestly if you hadn’t stumbled when I punched you, I was going down.”

Connor stepped off the platform and grabbed a black towel, using it to wipe the sweat from his face. Connor stepped away from the rings and over to the punching bags. At the beginning of the day he could barely throw a basic punch. He tucked his thumb into his fingers (North had commented it was a great way to break your thumb), he kept tension in his forearms, and he didn’t turn with the punch and instead threw stiff armed hits across his body. Just a few hours later he was able to throw a pretty good punch as well as a few other moves. His knuckles were bloody and bruised from constant impacts. He kept practicing though and working to be better. He’d seen his place on the scoreboard. He was in sixth last time he’d checked but he knew he could do better. He heard footsteps approaching him and thought it was Nines until he heard the voice. 

“You’re working yourself to a pulp, Connor,” the voice of Hank commented. 

Connor paused in his attacks, “Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?”

“Well yes and no,” Hank said, “We want you to push yourself but the way you’re going it won’t matter how good your form is, you’re going to break your hands.”

Connor stepped back from the bag, looking at his knuckles. They were purple and green with bruises and covered in cuts that were oozing blood. Hank tossed him a roll of medical tape. 

“Fix yourself up."

Connor wrapped his knuckles in the white tape, the first layer turning crimson faster than he could wrap the tape. As he tore the strip from the role, Leo called them to a group. 

“Alright, initiates, endurance training. Follow me.”

Leo took off at a quick jog with all the Dauntless initiates following behind him. They ran a few miles away from the Dauntless base before coming back. It was hard to keep pace but somehow Connor managed to do it. As they arrived back he felt the muscles in his legs release, his lungs burning, and his side aching. He grabbed a bottle of water and drank the whole thing. 

North looked at him over her towel, “You’re a machine, Connor!”

Connor smiled, lifting the bottom of his shirt to wipe his own face, “You kept pace the whole time too and based on how you finished, I’d bet you could have gone faster.”

She gave him a smirk, “Probably.”

He ran a hand through his hair. They didn’t have a long rest though because Hank led them all to the roof they’d jumped to from the train. There were target dummies lined up along a wall and a row of guns lined up. Target practice. Hank demonstrated the best form, hitting the target twice in the chest and once in the forehead, before letting the teens grab their own guns. North and Nines were naturals. Connor found himself struggling to hit the target. He sighed in disappointment as he missed a third shot in a row. 

Hank stepped up next to him, “your aim is good but you don’t seem to account for the kick back. You need to be loose. You’re too stiff. Brace yourself, yes, but don’t try to force yourself stock still. When you fire, let your abdomen absorb the kickback and let your arms follow it. You have to treat your weapon as part of you, no matter the weapon.”

Connor nodded, giving it another try. This time, the bullet hit directly where he aimed. Hank smiled, clapping him in the shoulder. The group fired several more rounds before being told to go back down to the training room. Leo was standing across from one of the platforms next to the scoreboard. Gavin was lingering not too far behind him sitting on a bench with a towel. The two of them were coated in a layer of sweat despite not having come up to the roof. From the cuts on Leo’s lips and the blood dripping from Gavin’s nose, Connor suspected they had fought on their own. 

Leo finally spoke up, “First jumper and last jumper in the ring! One on one fights. You fight until one of you can’t continue.”

Gavin stepped closer,”Or one of you taps out.”

“New rule, no one taps out.”

Gavin threw a glare at the other instructor before crossing his arms and leaning back against a pillar to watch the fight, “Good thing those weren’t the rules when we fought as initiates.”

Leo’s face twisted into a scowl but he didn’t fire back another insult. Connor stepped up onto the platform along with a Dauntless born girl. He didn’t doubt her skill though. From the second they began he knew what she seemed to lack in muscle she made up with in speed. She wasted no time in coming for quick jabs with her fists. When Connor tried to block she dodged. 

She seemed to dance around on the balls of her feet. He took that as useful information and focused on dodging long enough to do something with it. She kicked high up to his shoulder and he ducked out of the way, grabbing her ankle on the way down and using the leverage to toss her aside. She let out a small shriek but before Connor could end the fight, she maneuvered her feet around his ankles and pulled, knocking him down. When he fell he forgot to brace himself and his head hit off the platform hard. She used this to her advantage, quickly standing, planting a foot on his chest, and ending the fight with a swift punch to his cheek that made his head spin. She stepped back and helped him up. 

He stepped off to the side and Nines tossed him a cold bag to press against his cheek. She was a lot better than he’d expected. He grabbed his towel and used his free hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. The towel had become disgustingly damp as the day went on and he decided it wasn’t worth a wash and tossed it into the garbage. He watched North and Nines both win their fights and Daniel lose his. Once the final match was done, Leo pressed a button and their names moved on the scoreboard. Connor had moved from sixth to third. Nines was at eighth. On the Dauntless born board North was second and Daniel was tenth. There were only fifteen Dauntless born so Daniel was hovering just above the line. Once they saw the names they all made their way back to the dorms. 

Connor insisted he needed a shower and abandoned his friends for a bit. Nines also decided he needed one so they took turns holding towels up for some form of privacy. It was less because they felt embarrassed and more because they wanted to be considerate of everyone else. Once they’d both showered and changed North greeted them with a grin. 

“We should go get tattoos! It’ll be so much fun!”

Nines shrugged, “I’m down.”

Connor smiled back at her, “Sure.”

She showed them to a new hall off to the right of the pit. The large room was lit in blue and red. There were tattoo designs lining the walls. A few large ones caught his eye but he looked to the small ones instead. Connor picked two up, one of the Erudite symbol and one of the Dauntless. Where he was from and where he was now. Symbolic seemed like a good choice for his first tattoos. He approached one of the artists and realized it was the person from his test. 

“Jay?”

They turned to look at him with wide eyes before their face settled into one of indifference, “You shouldn’t have come here.”

“Well you didn’t give me much help on test day so I just picked where I felt lead to.”

“That’s what everyone says. Do you want a tattoo or not?”

Connor handed them the designs, “Erudite on my left wrist, Dauntless on my right.”

“Simple and easy symbolism for your first tattoos, I’m assuming.”

Connor nodded before adding, “So what can you tell me about-“

They shushed him, “Not a good time. There’s too many people here. I’d suggest coming back when most people are gone. Hell, even come for another tattoo to make it seem normal.”

Connor nodded as they pressed two pads over his wrists. They typed something in on a tablet and he felt a stinging sensation. They sat for a minute or so before the feeling stopped. Jay lifted the pads and he saw two symbols now permanently a part of his skin. He thanked them before stepping back out into the main area, the Erudite eye on his left and the Dauntless flame on his right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know things went a LOT different than they did in the Divergent series and that's because I want to follow the main plot points but not everything will go exactly as it did in Divergent or DBH. Also I forgot to address in the notes of the last chapter that characters like Daniel who have doubles in DBH don't look identical but they look similar. Think of it like how you can see someone who looks really similar to someone you know but they don't look the exact same. In Simon and Daniel's case, Simon looks the same as in the game and Daniel looks slightly different. The Tracis will probably make an appearance later in the story and the same thing applies to them. Echo looks the same while Ripple looks a little different. It's kind of hard to explain within the story so I hope that all makes sense. My last little note is I will probably decide tonight whether to keep this daily or change to weekly. If I change to weekly, I'll be back next Friday! If I keep it daily I'll see you guys tomorrow!  
> If you enjoyed leave a comment or a kudos! Thanks! <3


	5. The Red Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor takes Jay up on their offer and becomes better friends with Chris & Tina.
> 
> Aka the chapter where I mention Dauntless cake almost more times than any other word.

Two days later, they had a free hour and a half before training began so Connor took his opportunity to go talk to Jay. He slipped away from the dining room, leaving the his friends and the rest of the Dauntless cake (that had quickly become his favorite food) behind. Jay was the only person in the tattoo room. 

“I figured you’d be back soon,” Jay pulled back the curtain separating the main room from their chair. 

“I decided to take you up on your offer of talking and another tattoo,” Connor found the large one he’d seen the first night and left behind. 

It was a large flock of birds all flying in one direction with one flying the other way. He picked the glass up from the wall and hands it to Jay. 

“Being a little obvious, aren’t we?”

Connor shrugged, “I picked it cause it’s easy to pass off as being about how I defected.”

Jay nodded, “Well come on we don’t have all day.”

They stepped into the curtained off area and Connor pulled off his shirt so he could get the tattoo on his back. He laid down on his stomach, his chin resting on his forearms. Jay sat in front of him where he could see and he could feel the patch the little pricks of the tattoo begin. 

“So what can I help you with?”

Connor sighed, “Literally anything you know that could help me.”

Jay sat a little closer so they wouldn’t have to talk so loud, “I don’t know much. What I do know is this is one of the two worst factions you could have picked. Dauntless leadership is terrified of you but at least you didn’t stay with Erudite. They’ve been hunting Divergents even more than Dauntless.”

“I’ve seen Erudite people going in and out of a room on the second floor.”

“They have some kind of lab up there but no one other than leadership is allowed in.”

They stopped for a moment, looking at their tablet to make sure everything was still working before continuing, “You already have an extremely high rank on the score board. When you reach the next stage of training you are going to go through fear landscape simulations. You need to act like a Dauntless would or they will find you out. My girlfriend, Ghost, is one of the simulation administrators for training. The other two are Tina and Chris.”

Connor nodded, “Tina and Chris are Gavin’s friends, right?”

“Yeah.”

“My brother hangs out with Gavin a lot so I’ve seen them. I don’t know them extremely well, though.”

“Just be careful. Ghost doesn’t know about your test results, and I’m not saying you should tell her, but you can trust her to help you through the sims.”

Connor nodded before asking, “So off topic question but what’s your tattoo mean?”

He made a vague gesture at their infinity symbol. 

“Ghost and I both got them. Neither one of us wants to use the title of marriage so we got these,” they smiled at the symbol, “She’s my infinity. Even if we aren’t legally married my heart will always be hers.”

The sentiment made Connor smile and he wondered for a moment what they must be like. To have someone as your forever. Though in a city like Chicago forever never seemed to last very long. Connor thanked them for the advice just before the tablet next to Jay beeped. They removed the patch from his back and he could see in one of the full wall mirrors that the flock covered most of the middle and top left sides of his back. There was one lone bird flying on his right shoulder blade. He pulled on his shirt and was about to leave when Jay stopped him, giving him a hug. 

“Be careful, Connor.”

He mumbled an “I will” into their shoulder before going back to the pit. He still had forty-five minutes to kill. He was going to go find North when he spotted Nines, Gavin, Chris, and Tina by the large rock wall. It looked like Tina and Gavin were racing up the wall to see who could reach the top first. You’d expect a place like Dauntless to let them free climb but both of them were wearing harnesses. 

Guess even Dauntless has limits. 

He approached Chris and Nines who were standing at the bottom eating Dauntless cakes and laughing. 

“Hey guys!” Connor said once he got close. 

Nines turned to see him first and gave him a smile, “Where have you been all morning, Con?”

“I went and got another tattoo.”

Nines raised his eyebrows, “Seriously! And you did it without me! No fair.”

Connor chuckled, “If you wanted me to hold your hand you could have just asked.”

Nines elbowed him in the ribs and stuffed another bite of cake into his mouth. 

“So what’d you get?” Chris asked, looking at the ones on his wrists. 

“I got this really cool looking one with a flock of birds. I got it really big on my back.”

Nines poked his shoulder, “Are you going to show off or what?”

Connor smirked and rolled up his shirt so they could see. 

“Damn! That’s cool!” Chris said as Connor fixed his shirt. 

“I didn’t even see that one when we went the first time,” Nines said sounding a little disappointed. 

There was a loud swear from above them as Gavin lost his grip on the overhang. He dropped, pretty quickly, back down to the ground with a thump. The harness was really only there to keep climbers from dying, not from getting hurt when they fell. Gavin groaned and rubbed his ankle before inclining the harness and standing up. He looked up to see Tina quickly climbing her way back down. 

“I see we’ve been joined by the other twin,” Gavin said, picking up his water and taking a sip. 

Connor crossed his arms and shrugged, “It was you guys or wandering around the compound trying to find North.”

“He went and got a tattoo without me,” Nines said in an over-exaggerated whiny voice. 

Gavin sighed and draped an arm over Nines’ shoulders, “I didn’t know we were letting the whiny little stiffs in now.”

Nines shrugged off his arm, “I mean they let you in, how high can their standards be?”

“Man has a point!” Tina said, finally stepping off the wall and dropping her harness. 

“Yeah, haha, also, fuck you Tina,” Gavin said, tossing her a water bottle. 

Nines and Chris finished their cake and Tina wanted to get some of her own so the five of them went on a cake trip. They had about fifteen minutes before training and they probably shouldn’t be eating this close to fight training but...

“This cake is so goddamn good I know know how I lived sixteen years without it,” Connor said after taking a bite. 

“Cheers to that,” Chris replied. 

They ate their cake and then grabbed fresh water before Nines, Connor, and Gavin went to the training room. Everyone was lined up in front of blue targets with throwing knives. Connor and Nines each picked up a set of knives and started throwing. Nines was scary good at hitting the target dead center and it didn’t go unnoticed. Every throw hit the ring on the target where the person’s vitals would be. North stopped before throwing to see him hit another one. 

“You’re kinda amazing at this,” she commented before throwing one of her own. 

Connor didn’t have the same deadly accuracy as Nines but he got almost every throw to hit the target somewhere. To Connor’s left he heard a clatter as one of Daniel’s knives hit the ground. He sighed before attempting to throw again but he was interrupted by Leo’s annoyed tone. 

“Go get it.”

Daniel turned to look at him, “While they’re throwing?”

“What are you afraid?” Leo uncrossed his arms and approached Daniel. 

“I-“

“Stand in front of the target.”

Daniel’s eyes went wide.

“You’re going to stand there while Gavin throws these knives and if you flinch, you’re out.”

Gavin picked up three throwing knives and Daniel went and stood in front of the blue target. Connor could already see him closing his eyes. There was no way he’d even get through one throw without flinching. Gavin pulled his arm back to throw. 

“Stop.”

Before Connor could get a word out, he heard North’s voice cut through the silence. 

“Anyone can stand in front of that target it won’t prove a damn thing,” she said, the defiance thick in her voice. 

Leo turned his gaze to her, looked her up and down, and said, “Well then it won’t be a problem for you to take his place.”

North stepped over to the target and turned, her shoulders high with perfect posture. Daniel stepped away from the line of targets and rejoined the line of initiates. 

“Same rules apply,” Leo said, flatly. 

Gavin brought his arm back and threw, the knife flying through the air and burying itself in the target, the handle cold against North’s cheek. He threw another and it landed near her right shoulder. Gavin thought for a second before throwing one that barely clipped her ear. She shifted the slightest bit after the knife landed and felt the sting of the blade as she moved. 

“Points for bravery, recruit. But not as much as you just lost for opening your mouth,” Leo said, satisfied.

The initiates stepped away from the throwing targets and went to get drinks. Gavin handed North a gauze patch for her ear. Daniel was standing a little ways away from her but as Gavin walked away he approached. 

“Thank you, North. I’m sorry you had to do that for me.”

She shrugged it off. Gavin started up the scoreboard and a few names moved but mostly everything remained the same. The initiates started to gather around the rings since they knew what was coming. 

“Connor and Sev in the ring,” Leo ordered, standing by the ring opposite the scoreboard. 

Connor hadn’t talked to Sev much but he knew the guy was a dick. Connor had seen him picking on Abnegation kids at school and just genuinely being a dick to people during training. He was ranked tenth while Connor was currently ranked fourth. They both stepped up onto the platform and the first thing Connor noticed was how cocky the guy was. He looked at him once and immediately rolled his eyes and scoffed. 

“C’mon, Leo! Give me a challenge.”

Leo crosses his arms, “Shut up and fight.”

Sev turned back around. He put most of his weight on the balls of his feet meaning Connor could get him off guard. Connor took up a more defensive stance and waited for Sev to inevitably make the first move. Sev threw a punch towards Connor’s face. He dodged and tried to grab his arm but missed. Sev threw another punch and Connor ducked under it, punching his opponent in the stomach. Sev tried to catch his breath as Connor wrapped an arm over his back and brought his knee up, knocking the wind back out of him. After two impacts, he pushed Sev off to the other side of the ring, and with a swift kick to the stomach, the fight was over. Connor stepped off the platform and watched the rest of the fights. He was honestly happy to get a break from fighting for the rest of the day. Once everyone had finished their rounds, the names on the scoreboard moved. 

Leo stepped off to the side of the board, ”Final standings for the main part of training today. We’ll meet up again tonight for a game. A few of your other instructors will be joining us tonight.”

They looked at the standings of the names. Connor was in third and Nines was fifth. On the dauntless born side, North had dropped to eighth and Daniel was thirteenth. What mattered was they were all above the red line. They were all still in Dauntless. They were given the rest of the day to relax and Connor decided he was going to take a well deserved nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed chapter five! A few notes from me. Let's start off with the big one: what plot points I'm using. As you might have noticed up to this point a lot of points and lines have been more like the first movie and this is mostly because I haven't read the books in four years. I'm rereading them as I write but I need a memory refresh. Personally I think the first movie isn't awful so you might notice some stuff from the first movie crossing over to the story. After the first book in going to focus a lot more on book stuff because I hate the second and third movies.  
> So other that, I wanted to tell you guys something you should know about me and how I'm writing. Other than writing and reading I have school Monday to Friday and I usually cosplay on Saturday so I do my best to get a lot of writing done but obviously other things do come up. So in the future if I ever fall behind I'll be sure to let you all know but I really hope that never happens.  
> Thanks for reading, everyone! See you next friday!  
> If you enjoyed please leave a comment or a kudos! <3


	6. Soaring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Its like capture the flag"  
> But that's exactly what it is.  
> Also ZIP LIIIIIIINE

North came to wake Connor up a few minutes before the train passed. He quickly changed from comfortable clothes to clothes better suited for fighting. A black jacket and black pants helped limit exposed skin and blend in more to the darkness and his boots gave better running support. As soon as he was changed he hurried to catch the leaving train. He wasn’t the last person on though because once he got on he saw two more people join the group. After they left the platform, Leo and Gavin silenced the group. 

Gavin held up a glowing piece of fabric, “This game is like capture the flag. We’ll split into two teams. You can use whatever you see fit to defend your flag or capture the other team’s. Weapon of choice,” he held up a red practice gun. 

Nines leaned over to Connor and whispered, “They call that a gun?”

Gavin gave him a look before shooting a dart into his thigh. Nines shouted and stumbled back against the wall, sliding to the floor. He groaned and grabbed at his leg. Gavin reached over and pulled the dart out, holding it up for all to see. 

“Neurostim dart. It simulates the pain of a real gunshot wound but it only lasts a few minutes.”

Leo swept a hand around, gesturing at the room, “You wanna pick first?”

Gavin looked around before his eyes fell on his friend on the ground, “I’ll take Nines.”

“Well then in that case I’ll take Connor,” Leo said, smugly. 

“Chris,” Gavin followed, picking his friend out from the crowd. 

“Only picking your friends, I see?”

“Well why not my friends are the best of the best.”

Leo rolled his eyes, “Tina.”

Gavin gave him a glare before saying, “Sev.”

“North.”

They finished picking teams a few minutes before arriving to the playing field. Nines eventually regained the ability to stand and stood up. 

“Didn’t hurt you too bad, right?”Gavin said. 

It seemed like they were trying to have a conversation just between them but the train was crowded so Connor overheard anyways. 

“You shot me with a bullet simulating dart. So yes.”

“I could have shot you closer to somewhere vital. Now THAT would hurt. And we wouldn’t want to see that pretty face crying, now would we.”

Nines rolled his eyes, “Whatever, Gavin.”

The train came to the platform and as soon as they jumped everyone took off running after their team captains. Their playing field was an abandoned amusement park. Connor followed Leo towards the large Ferris Wheel at one end and saw Gavin leading his group towards the far end. Once the group was near the Ferris Wheel, they stopped to strategize. They decided as a group they would hide the flag around the back of the Ferris Wheel since it was well covered. Four people stayed back with the flag to play defense while the rest of the group would play offense and fall back to help if needed. The trouble was they didn’t know where the flag was. 

Connor’s eyes skipped to the Ferris Wheel, “What if we got a better vantage point?”

Leo looked at him quizzically, “I’m not sure I follow.”

“I could climb the wheel, try to see the group or their flag, and then we’d know where they are.”

Leo looked at the height of the Ferris Wheel before shrugging, “Okay.”

Connor hurried over to the wheel and started climbing the rungs at the bottom. He got about five feet off the ground before he heard a second person climbing and glanced back to see North. 

“You think I’m letting you climb this thing all by yourself?”

Connor smirked at her before continuing, “I guess not.”

Connor focused on putting one hand above the other instead of his frantically beating heart in his ears. They reached the centerpiece and Connor looked out over the park. He couldn’t see far enough yet so he looked up. The spokes were much farther apart the higher he went. Many more things for him to fall off of. He didn’t want to admit it but he wanted to climb back down. 

His thoughts were interrupted by North poking his ankle, “You okay?”

He nodded before reaching a shaky hand up to a higher rung. 

“Are you afraid of heights?”

Connor shook his head, “No. I’m afraid of falling from them.”

He reached a shaky hand up to the next bar and pulled himself up, carefully balancing on it before climbing up two more rungs. He found a few good handholds and footholds and decided he had to be high enough. Looking out over the field he could see a bright green glow illuminating a tower in the distance and several tiny blue lights moving about on the field below. 

He braced his right arm against the metal and pointed with his left, “North! Look!”

She turned and saw where he was pointing, “We got ‘em.”

Slowly they made their way back down the wheel. Climbing down meant looking down and Connor’s body fought every movement. The closer they got to the ground, the less his hands shook. They were about fifty feet from the ground when Connor felt the rung his left foot was on shake. Before he could move it, it collapsed beneath him. He gripped the rungs his hands were on as hard as he could as he tried to find another foot hold. His right foot was still on a rung so he shifted his higher hand to the side of the ladder. It took everything in him to slide down to the next rung with nothing but his left hand and right foot sturdy on the rungs. As soon as his left foot touched metal, he carefully slid both his hands along the side poles and stepped down far enough to grab hold again. His shaky breathing evened out and he carefully continued his way down. North reached the ground first and ran to tell the others. Once Connor rejoined them, they started their journey to the other side of the field. As they went, North and Tina came up with a plan. They would split into two groups. One group would attack Gavin’s team head on so they’d be distracted. The other team would be much smaller and would head up the far right side of the field and get to the tower. This would be Connor, North, and Tina. 

As they approached where Gavin’s team was, they all turned off their blue flashlights. Connor, North, and Tina broke off from the main group and waited behind a broken down carnival stand for Leo’s team to attack. Soon, they heard someone on Gavin’s team yell and the teams engaged. Once the fighting was directed on Leo’s team, the three of them started up the side, ducking behind walls of boxes or into carnival stands. Tina got separated and ran to join the main fight. That left Connor and North. They only had a row of boxes, barricaded to keep them out, between them and the tower entrance. Connor ducked around one side while North went the other. He turned the Corner and saw Sev with his gun trained on North. 

“Tell me if this hurts.”

Connor quickly aimed his and said, “You tell me!” as he fired. 

Sev fell to the ground as the dart lodged in the back of his knee. 

“Bastard.”

North kicked Sev’s gun away from him and left a snide “asshole” comment before shooting him in the chest. The two of them hurried over to the tower and carefully made their way up the stairs. They peered in and saw Chris guarding the flag. As soon as he saw the hatch they were under lift a bit, he started firing to try and hit them. Connor fired back but eventually they both ran out of darts and it became a physical fight. 

“North! Get the flag!”

While Connor kept Chris busy in one corner of the tower, North ran to grab the flag from the side they weren’t on. She picked up the shimmering fabric and ran to the window, waving it proudly with a cheer. The fighting ceased below and Chris admitted defeat. The two high-fived before the three of them made their way back down the tower. Everyone was in a big group making their way towards the train. A few people were limping or nursing an arm from a dart that was still wearing off. Leo seemed to be having an extremely hard time walking and Gavin was smiling smugly in his direction. As he walked, Connor felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Tina smiling at him.

“Come with me.”

“Come with you where?”

She smiled even brighter, “You’ll see. It’s a little Dauntless initiation ritual.”

Connor followed her in a different direction from the group. Chris and a bunch of other initiates were running towards the edge of the city. There was an extremely high building that looked to be in okay shape that they were all running to. As they approached, Tina shouted something about turning on the electricity that morning. When they came to the large double doors, he could already see the glowing elevator inside. They piled in as many as the elevator could carry and pushed the button for the hundredth floor. The top of the building. It was only a few minutes of waiting but a the higher they went the more Connor was afraid the elevator would come crashing down. Once they stopped, he was the first to exit. He pushed the door to the roof and was taken aback by the view. It was beautiful. He could see the wall and the abandoned amusement park to one end and in front of him was Chicago. He could see the glow of the Hub in the distance and the lights of the other factions surrounding it. It was beautiful. 

There was a noise like a zipper and he turned to see a few Dauntless pulling harnesses out of a crate and attaching one to a thick wire running off into the city. A zip line. One of the other initiates went first, laying down in the harness backwards, and was sent off down the wire into the city. It looked like so much fun. They attached another harness to the wire and Tina nudged him. 

“You’re up.”

Connor gladly took the hand he was offered to get up and laid down on his stomach. At first his stomach dropped when he saw how high they were and he was nervous he’d fall. But he didn’t dwell on the thought because he was far too hyped on adrenaline to worry. One of the guys helping him grabbed a metal handle and showed it to him. 

“When you see the X pull the break as hard as you can, got it?”

“Got it!”

And with that, they pulled him back and pushed. He let out a whoop as they let go and suddenly he felt like he was soaring. The wind rushing through his hair, the feeling of being up so high, it wasn’t scaring him in that moment. He let go of his death grip on the straps and held his arms out to the sides, feeling the rush of air. The line brought him close to one of the buildings and he had to tuck his right arm in so he didn’t touch it. On his left he could see his reflection in the old windows. He reached out his arm, the glass only inches away. Suddenly, his reflection was left behind as he passed the building and could see all the way out to the old park.

It looked beautiful from the tower they jumped from but from here it was an even more spectacular view. He looked to his right and saw the Abnegation houses. Each one was illuminating a soft glow through the windows. When he looked forward he saw that the line took him through a half destroyed building and he tucked his arms in so he wouldn’t be cut by the debris. He kept his eyes on the line as it dipped and turned rapidly. With a final drop he could see a big illuminated X with a group of Dauntless standing underneath. Connor reached back, grabbing for the break. It brushed past his fingers once. Twice. Finally on the third time he latched his fingers around the cold metal and pulled as hard as he could. He came to a slow stop a foot away from the X. The Dauntless below him cheered and he did as well. They helped him out of the harness and once he was on the ground, one of them point out the railroad tracks. Just across them was the entrance to Dauntless. He quickly stepped across them and went inside. He decided to go find his friends and maybe get some Dauntless cake but he had no idea where they were. The first hallway he turned down was a dead end so he just kept walking. Dauntless compound could be quite a maze when you were looking for someone. He was going to go check the dorms but thought he heard someone in the training room. He got to the doorway when he realized the person he heard was his brother. 

And also Gavin. 

Making out. 

No sooner did he see them than he turned right back around and went the other way. That was not something he really wanted to see. It was also very useful blackmail and teasing fuel. He continued down the corridor and was about to go to the pit when he saw someone in a blue suit walk down a side corridor. 

What is Erudite doing here now? It’s the middle of the night. 

He followed the person in the blue suit down the hall and they stopped at the large door. As he got closer he realized he recognized the woman. 

“Mom?”

The word slipped out and he didn’t mean for it to. He ducked back behind a wall as she turned around. He heard her come closer but she stopped before she got to him. She mumbled something to herself about hearing things before going back to the door. Connor saw her push her way in and caught a glimpse of the pristine white room full of monitors on the other side. He was about to leave when the door opened again. This time a boy stepped out. Connor recognized him from the Choosing ceremony as Markus Manfred. He stepped away from the door and let out a sigh. He looked tired. Connor watched as he took a deep breath before walking down the hall towards him. Connor pretended to just be minding his own business as he walked past. Unfortunately for him, Markus wasn’t paying attention and jumped when he turned the corner and saw him. 

“Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” he said, trying to look unbothered. 

He smiled and held out a hand to Connor, “I’m Markus.”

Connor took his hand and shook it, “I’m Connor.”

Markus let go of his hand and Connor expected him to leave but instead he kept talking, “I think I remember seeing you at the Choosing, right?”

Connor nodded. Markus seemed to wait for something else to say to just fall out of the sky but they both fell into an awkward silence. They didn’t know each other and the chances of seeing each other again were slim. So Connor just offered him a polite smile before excusing himself and heading towards the Pit. He turned back after going some distance down the hallway to see Markus had left. 

Good. 

Connor walked back to where he had been before and waited a few minutes before approaching the door. He got closer and realized what a stupid idea that was. It’s not like he could just go in, especially with Erudite members in there. He sighed and turned to leave but came face to face with Amanda Stern. His eyes went wide and he tried to stammer out an excuse. She silenced him before looking him over. 

“You’re one of Samantha and Colin’s sons, right?”

He nodded. 

“How are you doing here in Dauntless? Are you happy with your new faction?”

“Yes,” Connor managed the single word. 

He hated to admit it but Amanda scared him just a little. 

“Good.”

Connor worked up the courage to ask her, “May I ask why you have a lab here in Dauntless, Ms. Stern?”

She didn’t look angry with the question though, “Just for some extra testing. We have a few projects we are working on with the Dauntless leaders. Like those darts you used in training tonight. One of our many side projects. One of our new members played a big part in its creation.”

Connor nodded. 

“You and your brother have high potential. If we are ever given the chance I’d be very happy to work with you in the future but for now you must excuse me, I have to get back to work. Have a good night, Connor.”

She offered him a smile before Connor walked away. Even though her answer seemed innocent, he didn’t trust that she told him the truth. Something was going on in Dauntless right under their noses and he was determined to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter down! I'm really excited with how this is going. Only a few notes this time. I have gone back and made a few tiny edits to a few of the previous chapters just because small details I noticed or errors I needed to fix. Also there have been a few interesting additions to the tags so I suggest checking on them every once in a while. I update them usually as I write NOT as I update chapters. Lastly, thank you guys for all the love on this story so far! It means a lot to me and I enjoy reading the comments! See you next week as we slowly approach some big plot things. Also, next week will be a Markus chapter because we really haven't heard from the other half of our story that much lately.   
> Leave a comment or a kudos if you enjoyed! <3


	7. Visitor's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Markus and Carl are reunited and something is discovered.

Markus woke up that morning in the comfort of his own apartment. Erudite has a fairly simple initiation. Take a few tests to see your level of education, be taught based on your scores, and then you’re in. Markus was the highest scoring initiate in his class. He believed it was because of his father’s belief that knowledge helped one better understand truth. Once he’d successfully been initiated into Erudite, he was offered a position working under Elijah Kamski, one of the leaders. It probably also helped he was Carl Manfred’s son. 

Markus stood up and put on a dark blue button down shirt and pants. He stole a quick glance at the calendar and saw it was visiting day. He knew Carl was going to come see him so he quickly cleaned up the papers he’d left lying about in his kitchen before grabbing a granola bar and leaving. He always got to the lab by eight so he could get some work done before Elijah got there. Their current project made little sense to Markus but he worked hard on it all the same. It was a serum that supposedly helped make people more susceptible to suggestion. Samantha Fair, one of the other Erudite scientists he worked with, said they were planning on supplying the Dauntless with it so they could use it in non-lethal ways. It would help prevent unnecessary killing should they ever need to defend Chicago. As Markus approached the lab he saw Simon and Josh getting coffee and decided to stop and get some of his own. 

“Morning, guys.”

“Morning, Markus,” Simon said with a bright smile. 

Simon has transferred from Abnegation and there were still obvious traces of that happy, selfless nature in him. Josh transferred from Candor like Markus and both of them still suffered from Candor’s brutal honesty. 

“Do you think your dad is going to come see you, Markus?” Josh asked before taking a sip of coffee. 

Markus nodded, “Carl made it pretty obvious to me the night before choosing that he wouldn’t blame me for defecting if I did. I can’t wait to see him again.”

“Do you think he’ll go see Leo too?”

Markus frowned, “I remember going with him to visit Leo two years ago and he made it quite clear he didn’t want to see us. My dad hasn’t gone back to see Leo since then.”

Josh didn’t ask any more questions but Simon piped in, “Are you going to introduce him to your girlfriend?”

Markus rolled his eyes, “I told you! She’s not my girlfriend! Vikki is just my friend.”

Simon sighed and rested his chin on his hand, “That’s what they all say.”

Vikki was the top initiate of the year before them. She’d really helped Markus with studying and picking up on all the new information. There had been several times when Simon and Josh came over to talk when they found Vikki and Markus studying. Simon made it his personal mission to play match maker. Josh made it his personal mission to stay out of it. 

Markus groaned before picking up his coffee and stepping away, “Alright I’m going to go do real work. I’ll see you later.”

He pushed through the glass doors into the labs, passing a few people he recognized including Vikki, as he walked to the far lab that Elijah liked to use. He sat down at his usual desk space and ran a few test compounds. He’d been unable to get anything successful yet but he thought he was getting close. He was about to test another when the door opened. 

"What are you doing?”

Markus turned to look at Elijah, “Working?”

“No no no. You should be getting ready to see your father. You get one day with him. I get three hundred sixty-four with you. Go.”

Elijah practically shoved him away from the desk, “Besides. I think I finally figured it out.”

Markus stumbled over to the door, “Alright, alright I’m going.”

As he was leaving he passed Samantha and Colin and decided to stop to say hi. 

“Good morning, Colin. Good morning, Samantha.”

“Good morning, Markus. Are you excited to see your father?” Samantha replied with a genuine smile. 

“Of course! Are you going to be visiting your sons today?”

Her face fell, “We don’t think so.”

Markus gave her a soft look, “That’s unfortunate. I actually think I got to meet Connor last night. I ran into him leaving the Dauntless lab.”

Samantha’s face brightened a bit again. Colin stayed emotionless and didn’t say anything, even as Markus walked away. Carl would be there in about fifteen minutes so he walked down the stairs to the main entrance and waited just inside the scan gate. Simon and Josh spotted him and decided to wait with him. Simon’s little sister and mom arrived first, both dressed in dull Abnegation colors. His little sister ran to give him a hug the second she saw him. Simon talked a lot about Emma. She was eight years old and sometimes it seemed Simon loved her more than himself. She was his favorite person. He waved a quick goodbye to his friends before showing his family into Erudite. 

It was only a minute later that Carl arrived. Markus noticed he was using the autonomous wheelchair he’d been gifted by Erudite a few years earlier. He never used it unless it was a special occasion. Markus bent to give him a hug. 

“It’s so good to see you, dad.”

“I missed you, Markus.”

Markus was happy to show him the Erudite headquarters and then took him back to his apartment. It wasn’t large, just his bedroom, a kitchen, and a small dining space, but Markus was happy to call it his own. Once they were inside, Markus set to making them a snack so they could talk. Once he’d cut up a few apples, he went and sat next to Carl. 

“So what’s life like in Erudite?” Carl asked with genuine interest. 

“It’s pretty basic. Wake up, go to work, come home, repeat. It’s nice getting to help progress the technology of Chicago.”

“How was initiation?”

“Good! I got top of my class. I’ve been working with Elijah Kamski.”

Carl smiled, “Thats great, Markus.”

They sat for a minute eating the slices of fruit before Carl sighed. 

“That’s not all I wanted to ask about, Markus.”

Markus turned to give him his full attention. 

“I wanted to ask you about the aptitude test. I know you’re not supposed to tell me but I need to know. What were your results?”

Markus didn’t answer at first but after a moment he let out a long exhale and said, “They came back inconclusive.”

“Divergent.”

Markus nodded. 

Carl offered him a smile, “I’m not upset with you, Markus. But you need to be even more careful. Erudite is always on the lookout for Divergents.”

With a sigh he looked at his watch, “Markus I wish I could stay longer but I decided to go visit Leo. I just want to see if he’s okay.”

“That’s okay, dad. I’m just happy you’re doing okay.”

Markus gave his father a long hug before saying goodbye. As the door closed behind Carl, Markus felt a tear slip down his cheek. He didn’t want to admit it but he was terrified of Erudite. One of the reasons he chose them was out of fear. At least if he was in Erudite he knew what he was up against instead of blindly hoping he wouldn’t be caught. He cleaned up the last of the snacks before walking back to the lab. When he arrived he found that Samantha had decided to go visit her sons while Colin stayed at the lab. He didn’t talk about them much but the few times he did, Markus could tell he both resented their decision and missed them dearly. Samantha on the other hand seemed to think her sons were brave for leaving but she seemed empty without them. Vikki said she used to smile a lot more. Elijah never talked about his parents or his brother, all Markus knew was he had them. They asked him about Carl and Leo on his first day there but after that the conversation topics shifted. Faction before blood and all that. 

When he pushed the glass door into the lab he found it swarming with people. Something big had happened while he was with Carl. He maneuvered his way towards Elijah’s private lab but someone tapped his shoulder. 

“Markus, May I speak with you?”

He turned to see the face of Amanda. She scared him the most. He nodded anyway and followed her up a flight of stairs to her office. She invited him to sit at a table and offered him coffee which he kindly accepted. Once she poured it, she sat back in her chair and folded her hands neatly in her lap. 

“How are you, Markus?”

“Good, you?”

“Good.”

She paused, taking a sip of her own drink, “I assume you enjoyed your father’s visit?”

“Yes, I did. It was nice to see him again.”

“Do you miss him?”

“Of course. He’s my father.”

Amanda nodded, “Human connection is dangerous, Markus. Sometimes being connected to someone can cloud your logic. Always remember that.”

Markus nodded and took a sip of the coffee. It was little too hot but he swallowed it silently anyway.

“Now then, about why I asked you up here. The project you’re working on is actually going to be used very soon and we’d like you on the team working behind the scenes to run it. It’s just going to be a simple test in about two weeks time. You’d be on the small team with me, Mr. Kamski, and Mr. and Mrs. Fair. There would certainly be other people working on it but we’d be the main supervisors. Would you be interested?”

Markus thought for a moment before answering, “Of course. May I ask what kind of test would need a team this large?”

“We have made a decision with the Dauntless leaders to allow the Dauntless soldiers to be the first test subjects. We would be sending them into Abnegation to look for Divergents.”

Oh shit. 

Markus hopes his face didn’t show the concern in his head, “Why would we be doing something like that?”

“Well Abnegation has broken a lot of rules recently and we have many reports of them harboring Divergents. We decided it is in the best interest of Chicago to do our best to eliminate the threat.”

Markus nodded but in his head he was screaming. He couldn’t do this. He would be caught. On the outside he wore a smile and reached out a hand for Amanda to shake. He thanked her for the coffee and descended down the stairs to the floor below, his heart pounding in his ears. As he reached the bottom of the stairs he spotted Simon waving goodbye to his mom and sister. They were Abnegation. Markus waited for him to stop waving before grabbing his arm and pulling him down an empty hall. Simon stumbled over words as he was dragged down the hall before Markus hushed him. 

“Simon, we have a big problem.”

Simon stopped trying to form a sentence and let his friend speak. 

“Erudite is going to use Dauntless to attack Abnegation.”

Simon’s face went sheet white, “What do you mean?”

“I mean the serum I’ve been working on is going to be tested on Dauntless against Abnegation looking for Divergents. I was just asked to be on the team of overseers and thought it made more sense to be on it and know what’s happening than off it and out of the loop.”

“So what are we going to do? You know Amanda isn’t just going to hunt for Divergents she’s definitely going to find other uses for her mindless test subjects.”

“I don’t know.”

“Markus, that’s my family. We have to do something!”

Markus bit his lip and thought. How could they safely help the Abnegation without Erudite finding out? 

“Okay, Simon, here’s an idea. You need to find someone in Abnegation you can trust to get your family out on the day of the attack. Find a meeting pla-“

“The abandoned warehouse on the corner of eighty-sixth and elm. We used to store food there but we moved when we found rats.”

“Okay then. In two days you go find someone to help you that way your family and anyone else they can find are safe. Then you can escape to find them.”

“What about you? And what about Josh? I know he wouldn’t want this to happen either,” concern clouded Simon’s eyes. 

“You can tell him on the day of. The less people that know, the better. Otherwise Erudite might find out,” Markus said, his voice unwavering, the statement sounding more like an order. 

Simon nodded before they walked silently down the hallway. They wouldn’t speak of the plan until it was underway in two weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! Not too many notes this week just a few little things. I know this week's chapter wasn't the longest but next week's might be the longest I've written this far. Also next week we return to Connor! Big things are coming soon. Be prepared. See you all next week!
> 
> Thank you to everyone for 300 hits!!! It means a lot that people are enjoying the story!!  
> If you enjoyed leave a kudos or a comment! Thanks!! <3


	8. An Eye For An Eye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We return to Connor to see what visitors day has in store for him.

Connor didn’t really expect to see his parents waiting in the pit for them. Both him and Nines transferred, after all. They’d betrayed them. He shouldn’t have hoped to see their faces in the sea of families but it still hurt a little when he couldn’t find them that morning. North was with her father, Daniel was with his parents, even Sev was talking to his family. Everyone had someone but them. Connor and Nines resigned themselves to sitting on the edge of the chasm and listening to the roar of the river below. 

“You’re quite a natural fighter,” Nines said, “I know we didn’t talk much about training but you’re far better than most of the others.”

Connor shrugged, “It probably had something to do with all the fighting we did as kids.”

Nines stifled a chuckle, “Fights you started.”

Connor shoved his brother’s shoulder and Nines gripped the ledge a little tighter as he laughed, “Shut up, Nines.”

They both watched the white water for a moment before Connor remembered the sight he’d seen the night before. 

“So you and Gavin?”

Nines’ eyes went wide, “I- I don’t... I don’t know what you mean.”

Connor rolled his eyes at Nines who was still stumbling over his words, “Oh please I saw you two in the training room last night. You can’t tell me you made out with him for however long you did and don’t have feelings for him.”

Nines looked down at the water again with a smile, “Yeah okay you caught me. Just don’t tell anyone or I’ll break your ribs.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Connor said with a little chuckle. 

“You and North though?” Nines said with a teasing tone. 

Now it was Connor’s turn to be shocked, “I’m sorry, what?”

“You heard me! You and her would be cute!”

“Hell. No.” 

Nines batted his eyelashes, “But why not?”

Connor actually didn’t know why not. He’d never really felt that way about anyone. He’d only ever seen North as a friend. 

“I don’t know, Nines. I just don’t like her like that.”

Nines shrugged, “Your loss. If she wasn’t a girl, I might think she was hot.”

Connor glared at him out of the corner of his eye. It was then that he noticed Gavin approaching them. The instructor shoved the back of Nones’ head forward before sitting down next to them. 

“What’s up, recruits?”

“The ceiling,” Connor said in the most deadpan voice imaginable. 

Gavin groaned along with Nines. 

“So your family didn’t come either?” Nines said, looking at Gavin. 

Gavin shrugged, “I sure hope not. I told my brother to go fuck himself in front of the whole faction last time he came for a visit.”

Connor hissed an inhale through his teeth, “Ouch.”

Gavin nodded. Connor noticed a second of tension between his brother and the instructor and groaned. 

“This isn’t gonna be awkward now, is it?”

Gavin raised an eyebrow, “What?”

“You two! You’re not going to make this awkward now because you’re banging, are you?”

Gavin’s eyes went wide and he looked at Nines, “You told him!”

“I did not. Apparently we weren’t as discreet as we thought we were last night.”

Gavin rolled his eyes before looking back at Connor, “Don’t tell anyone.”

Connor made a motion like he was zipping his mouth and throwing the key into the chasm. 

“Connor?”

He looked for where his name was called from and saw a familiar woman in a blue pantsuit and heels. 

“Mom? I didn’t think you were coming.”

“I changed my mind,” she gave him a small smile. 

Connor stood and kicked Nines in the side, “You coming, man?”

“Yeah yeah chill out.”

Connor gave his mom a hug as Nines and Gavin both stood. Samantha offered Gavin a hand before he could walk away. 

“I’m Samantha Fair.”

“Gavin Reed. I’ll let you guys do your thing. There’s a piece of cake with my name on it.”

Gavin slapped Nines’ shoulder as he walked away. 

“He’s one of our instructors,” Nines said once Gavin was out of earshot.

“And he’s Nines’ boyfriend,” Connor said with a smirk. 

Nines shoved his brother, “You said you wouldn’t tell!”

“I decided mom is an exception.”

She looked between them confused, “Nines?”

“Oh right. I picked a new name when I got here. Richard just seemed too formal,” Nines said. 

Samantha nodded, “But wasn’t Nines the nickname Connor gave you as kids because-“

“Because I always got nines on exams? Yep.”

Connor shrugged, “I honestly can’t remember why that was funny as a kid.”

“Either way I thought it fit Dauntless better than Richard.”

The three of them went for a walk around the compound, making a stop in the dining room so their mom could try Dauntless cake. Samantha made a sarcastic comment about how the Dauntless had very creative names for everything that made the twins laugh. It was nice to get to see their mom. They didn’t even realize they were on the second floor until they passed the lab door and Connor’s steps faltered for a second. He wanted to ask her what was back there but not with Nines around. As they made their way back to the pit, Connor could hear someone yelling. It didn’t sound scared or sad, just angry. He slipped around his mother and Nines and ran ahead. Leo was yelling at someone. He was an old man in a wheelchair that Connor recognized as Carl Manfred. Suddenly it dawned on him. Mr. Manfred had a son named Leo. Leo was Carl’s son and Markus’ brother. He stopped in the entrance and couldn’t help but stare. The pit was silent save for Leo yelling at his father to leave. 

“I told you not to come visit me! I don’t want to see you!”

Carl looked at him with sad eyes, “Leo, I just wanted to see if you were okay.”

“Well I’m fine! Go back to your own faction and your perfect son who you love oh so much more than me,” Leo stopped, “Oh wait. That’s right he left you too.”

Leo turned and stormed out of the pit, leaving his father and the dumbstruck dauntless members behind him. Once he had gone, the volume slowly returned. Connor felt a soft hand on his shoulder.

“Connor, I should be going back,” his mother said in a soft voice. 

Seeing them fighting and yelling must have stunned her too. Connor gave her a hug and noticed Nines was already gone. They must have said their goodbyes when he was distracted. If he was going to ask about the lab he had to do it now. 

“Mom I was wondering, do you know what’s in the lab upstairs?”

She hesitated and stood up a little straighter, “It’s just a lab. Nothing more.”

She seemed to want to end the conversation there and Connor could tell from her change in demeanor that he should drop the topic. Samantha always tried to return to her professional demeanor when she wanted a conversation to end. The Connor she knew once would have taken her word as final. The Connor standing there now knew better. He wasn’t going to ask her anything more then but her answer only made him wonder what they were hiding more. It also made him wonder why it was so important she’d keep it from him. 

“Goodbye, Connor,” she said, a tear in her eye. 

“Bye, mom,” Connor said, his voice holding far less emotion than hers. 

She seemed to notice because her face fell as she turned and walked towards the exit. She chose to hide the truth from him. She took the saying faction before blood to heart much more than he did. She may be his mother but from her answer, she’d choose the safety of her faction over her son. And that was a dangerous choice. Connor watched her leave before heading to dinner to try and distract himself from the day’s second stressful moment. Final standings. He ate his food in silence. He was pretty high in the ranks last time he checked but anything could happen in Dauntless. His stomach was churning and he could barely finish his cake before Leo approached the balcony above. 

“Alright, initiates! Meet in the dorms in the next two minutes.”

His voice rang out over the now silent dining hall and slowly the recruits stood and made their way to the dorms. Leo, Gavin, and Hank stood near the scoreboard. This scoreboard was far bigger than the other ones they’d seen before. It wasn’t turned on yet but it’s presence was intimidating nonetheless. Once everyone filed in, Hank took a spot directly in front of everyone. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. 

“Leadership came to the decision that all initiates ranks will be merged together for this final score. Meaning Dauntless borns are now ranked with transfers. When I turn on this board, the red line will now separate the top twenty from the bottom fifteen. If your name is below the line, you will pack up your things and catch the last train of the night. If your name is above, you advance to the next stage of training. Only ten of you will pass stage two and become members.”

The silence was deafening. Fifteen people were being knocked out. And not only that but now only the top ten would become members! They were destined to fail and from the look on Leo’s face, he knew that. Hank stepped out of the way as the scoreboard lit up, names appearing from bottom to top. As the red names creeped closer and closer to the red line he became more and more hopeful. He hadn’t seen any of his friends names appear. Suddenly, the names were in white. The first name he was excited for was Daniel, ranked tenth. He grimaced as he saw Sev’s name ninth. Then North’s at fourth. Nines’ at third. Suddenly the names stopped. Where was his? 

North grabbed his shoulder, “Congratulations, Connor!”

She squeezed his shoulders in a tight hug. Then he realized why he hadn’t seen his name. He hadn’t looked at the first spot. There in glowing white was his own name. Above all the transfers and Dauntless born combined. He was ranked first. If nothing in the ranks changed, all his friends would be members. But Connor knew that was wishful thinking. There was no way the ranks wouldn’t move before the end of stage two. Connor saw Sev glaring at them from the corner of his eye. He should have been concerned but instead he felt his smile grow a bit at the sight. 

The people who were below the red line quickly cleared their things and left, not leaving a single thing behind. They didn’t want to go but the last train was only ten minutes away so goodbyes were short. Then they were gone and the room felt much emptier. The high stress of the day made everyone tired so it wasn’t long before the lights went out and everyone went to bed. Connor found himself tossing and turning instead of sleeping. He’d managed to outrank everyone. He’s made it to number one. He should be overjoyed. Something just felt off. He needed to be careful, Jay said. Ranking number one was drawing all eyes to him, not away from him. He needed to be more careful. 

There was a creak as someone stood to go to the bathroom. Connor closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep, even in the pitch black darkness. The minutes passed slowly and it was painstakingly awkward as Connor heard every footstep the person made. Eventually he heard the faucet shut off and the footsteps grew nearer as they approached their bed. But Connor didn’t hear the telltale creaking of the springs. Instead he heard a cry from the bed next to him. There was a thud and North groaned in pain again and Connor stood, immediately alert. He heard a few people stir as North cried out again, louder and more anguished. 

“Get the lights!” He yelled. 

Daniel was the first to respond and he hurried to get the lights. Once they were on Connor immediately assessed the scene. North had fallen from her bed to the floor and was clutching her hands around her eye. Her eye with a butter knife sticking out of it. Blood pooled around her head, soaking her skin and hair and staining the floor. Connor’s mind shifted from frozen to acting in a moment. 

“Nines, go get help!”

Nines nodded and ran for help and Connor knelt down beside his friend. 

“North, I’m right here-“

“Get it out! It hurts take it out!” she cried. 

Connor grabbed one of her hands and let her squeeze his palm. He used his other to brush the hair out of her face. 

“We can’t take it out right now. Nines ran for the medic.”

She cried out again, “Please take it out, Connor!”

Connor shook his head out of habit before saying, “Please be patient, North. I’m staying right here. You’re going to be okay.”

She sobbed and cried out again. Connor wanted nothing more than to pull the knife out and stab whoever did this. But he couldn’t. He just let her squeeze his hand as hard as she could and scream. It was only a minute before Nines came back with the medic. The woman knelt down beside North and asked everyone to leave but North’s grip on Connor’s hand just tightened. 

“No don’t leave me!”She said, her other hand tugging on his shirt. 

It was the first time Connor had seen her this weak. She looked helpless. The woman assured North that she’d be okay but North wouldn’t let go of his hand. 

“North, I’ll stay near you. I won’t leave. But you have to let go.”

She slowly peeled her fingers off Connor’s hand leaving small indents where her nails had pressed and white lines where her fingers had held on. Connor felt a small rush of warmth as blood returned to his fingertips and he clenched and unclenched his fist. His shirt and pants were soaked with blood and his hand was covered in the sticky red liquid. He should change but instead followed the medic and the two others who had arrived to help as they carried North to the medical wing. Before he could enter, she stopped him at the door. 

“You can’t be in the room, I’m sorry. You can wait out here.”

“But I told her-“

“You can’t,” and with that she turned on her heels and closed the door behind her. 

Connor stood for a moment in silence facing the closed door. What was going to happen to North? His best friend. He felt a hand on his shoulder. 

“Con, go get cleaned up. You can come back once you’re showered,” Nines’ voice was steady. 

He was always the more mature one when it came to these situations. When their grandpa passed away, Connor cried for days in his room while Nines put up a front of seriousness and dealt with the loss in silence. On that first night in Dauntless, Connor woke up once to hear him crying quietly but as soon as he stirred the sound stopped. Connor wanted to hug him but the blood covering him made him hesitate. Instead he just nodded before quietly walking back to the dorms. 

Someone had mopped up the blood as best as they could but the metallic smell still lingered in the air now mixed with a bleach cleaning smell. Connor pulled out the softest shirt and pants he could find and walked to the shower in the corner. There were only a handful of people in the dorms and the ones who were there weren’t watching but he still went to the best hidden shower they had. The water turned murky red as it cascaded over his skin. He watched the blood run down the drain and for a moment he wished it was his own blood and not the blood of his friend. Once his skin was clean of the red stain he turned off the water and pulled on the soft new clothes. Before he walked back to the medical wing he tossed the blood soaked clothes into the fire. He didn’t need a reminder of tonight. 

He slowly made his way back to the medical wing and slumped into the chair against the wall, resting his still damp hair against the cold stone. North didn’t deserve this. Connor could hear every distant noise in the pit. The sounds of footsteps. Of laughter and late night chatter. Of the far off river splashing against the walls of the chasm. Every noise. His head was empty and his thoughts were silent. All he could think of were North’s laugh. North’s smile. North. He felt his eyes slowly drift close and blinked them awake before he could fall asleep. He needed to stay awake for her. He made a promise. He felt his eyes grow heavy again but the door to the medical room opened and he snapped awake.

“Can I-“

“You can go in now. I need to give a report to Fowler. Don’t do anything stupid,” the medic said before walking away. 

Connor hastily opened the door and his gaze landed on the red soaked gauze wrapped around North’s eye. She was sitting on the edge of a chair in the corner. 

“I’m all clear to go back to bed for the night,” she said in a small voice. 

Connor sat next to her and let his palm fall open between them. She carefully placed her hand in his. Where she showed weakness before, there was now vulnerability. 

“How are you feeling?”

She shrugged, “Like I just got stabbed in the eye with a butter knife.”

Connor stared at their hands. For a moment his mind drifted to what Nines had said about him and North. Sure he agreed she was pretty but could he ever have something with her? Something more than friends? He mentally scolded himself for letting his thoughts wander at a time like this. Now wasn’t the time. 

“I’m leaving tonight.”

Connor looked at her confused, “What do you mean?”

“I mean I can’t continue training with one eye. I have to leave. I’m spending one last night with my family and then I’m going to see what help Abnegation will give me tomorrow. This is my last night at Dauntless.”

Connor felt his eyes well up with tears. He knew she was going to say something like that but he didn’t want it to be true. He didn’t want her to leave. He leaned over and pulled her into a tight hug. Neither wanted to let go. They were as close as family now. Connor felt a tear fall from his cheek onto North’s shoulder and it was then that North pulled away. She looked him in the eye and gently brushed the tears from his cheeks. 

“I’ll be okay, Con. I promise this isn’t the last time we will meet,” she slowly stood, “Give em hell for me, okay?”

Connor gave her a small smile before she walked out of the room. He wanted to follow so he could properly say goodbye but in the end his body stayed glued to the chair. He couldn’t do it. Slowly, the tidal wave of emotions came over him and sobs shook through his body. He held his head in his hands and felt the droplets collect in his palms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm late! An hour and a half past Friday! I started playing Heavy Rain for the first time and co.merely missed the end of the day. Anyways, onto the chapter.   
> This is the longest chapter so for and for obvious reasons. Connor got to see his mother, the rankings were determined, and we said goodbye to North (temporarily). We are officially getting into the dramatic part of the story and let me tell you I have big plans. I've lab ed almost the entirety of the events in Insurgent as well. You're all in for a wild ride. But I will not spoil anything and I've said my piece. I do have a quick question that would be fabulous is you could answer in the comments. What would you guys think if there was a chapter with a POV change in the middle? I have a chapter planned that would be extremely short of I were to write it from just one pointed view but if you guys would prefer no pov change, I'm sure I could figure it out.  
> Thank you all for reading and I'll see you next week!
> 
> Leave a comment or kudos if you enjoyed! <3


	9. Stage Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day of stage two.

The morning after North left Connor found it hard to stomach his food. He took a few bites before tossing his fork onto the table. He rested his head in his hand and stared at the plate before him. He hadn’t spoken to anyone since the night before and didn’t want to talk anyway. They started stage two later that day so he needed to focus. He picked up his still full plate and dumped it in the trash before going to the training gym. There were a few training knives scattered across the floor by the targets. He grabbed a handful of them and took a step back to the throwing line. He turned the blade in his palm before throwing it clean through the center of the target. He quickly threw a second and third that clinked against the first as they found the center. He sighed and dropped the other knives, the sound of clanging metal filling the silent room. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. He could hear the scrape of shoes as someone else came in. 

“Stage two starts in ten minutes, kid.”

Connor glanced at his instructor before sighing, “How could you just let her go? One of your top initiates-“

“Who felt she couldn’t continue training. We didn’t make her leave, Connor, she left on her own.”

“Why couldn’t you have made her stay!”Connor’s voice raised louder. 

He looked at Hank with desperation in his eyes, seeking for some kind of apology or excuse. Something he could blame. But all he got was a cold stare. 

“Because she left. What’s done is done. Now you better get your ass to training before you’re the next one leaving. Understood?”

Connor grit his teeth, “Got it.” 

Anger boiled behind his eyes and he walked out of the training room with a new purpose in his steps. He wasn’t getting any sort of help from the one person he hoped would understand him. He didn’t care if he stuck out anymore. He needed to stay on top so he could keep his promise to North. As he approached the simulation rooms, he saw several people already fidgeting in seats lining the walls. Connor slumped down in the closest chair to the door and crossed his arms. Once everyone arrived, Gavin once again stood in front of the group. 

“During the next stage of training you will be going through your worst fears in simulations. The only way to make them end is to either conquer the fear or calm your body enough to let the simulation end. You will not be training under myself, Hank, and Leo for this stage and the tests will be instead administered by Ghost, Chris, and Tina. Just remember, even the strongest of initiates will find this stage to be unbearably difficult. This will push you to your mental breaking point,” Gavin paused to scan the room before adding a final sarcastic, “Good luck,” and walking out. 

They went in reverse ranking order so Connor would be last. He silently sat as initiates were called into the rooms. After fifteen minutes the first person came quietly out, gently closing the door behind them. Connor knew the girl as the Dauntless born he fought back in physical training. The last jumper. She was hugging her arms and sweat coated her skin. She timidly looked at the floor as she stumbled from the room. The silence felt suffocating all of a sudden. She was a Dauntless born and here she was literally stumbling from the room looking so fragile that a mistimed breath would blow her away. How could any of them stand a chance when that’s what happened to her? Connor leaned forward, propping his elbows against his knees, and resting his chin on his hands. He spared a glance to his brother and saw him sitting with his arms crossed staring into space. 

He knew one fear they both shared. Drowning. Their parents believed things like swimming were time consuming and, in a place like Chicago where there’s no deep water, they thought it was unnecessary. Both Nines and Connor had read enough books to know that drowning was a terrible way to go out. Connor had a nightmare once when he was twelve of drowning in a completely open body of water. There was no sky above him and no floor below him. There was no land in any direction. There was just water every way he turned. In his nightmare he couldn’t figure out his to swim and just kept sinking into deeper and darker water. What if he came face to face with that nightmare in the simulation? What would he do then? 

The next person to leave was Daniel. Unlike the girl from before, he looked tense. He practically slammed the door and quickly left the room, his movements quick and mechanical, like he’d been shocked. Connor closed his eyes and tried to relax. His anger from before dissipating into anxiety. He threaded his fingers in his hair and took a few deep breaths. The next set of initiates were called in. Connor ignored them all until he saw Sev exit, his hands batting at invisible somethings on his arms and neck. Their eyes met for a moment and Sev glared at him. His arms fell to his sides and he looked like he was trying not to continue swatting at the air. He practically stomped out of the room after he looked away. 

Another three initiates went in and out before Nines followed Chris into one of the rooms. Connor was worried about what horror his brother would have to go through but at the same time he found he was more worried about his own fear. Whatever bit of him belonged in Abnegation scolded him for thinking of himself over his brother but he couldn’t help it. Another person exited Tina’s room and the second place initiate, someone named Rupert, entered. He was alone in the waiting room. He looked across the room at the small mirror. Dauntless seemed to have mirrors everywhere. Small ones in hallways, large walls of them in simulation rooms, tall ones in the training room, and tall ones in the dorms. Some of them made sense but Connor still wasn’t sure why some of them were there. He wiped his palms on his pants and adjusted the front of his jacket. Like most of the other initiates, he’d chosen to get new clothes instead of continuing to wear the training uniform at all times. Black pants and combat boots, a loose black long sleeve, and a black jacket with a red line along the collar. After a moment he shrugged the jacket off and draped it over the back of the chair. 

He hadn’t noticed much change in his physical appearance but he also hadn’t stopped to look in the mirror in almost a week. The first thing he noticed was his hair was a bit more wild but not out of control. He brushed a few strands around with his fingers so it looked at least a bit controlled. The second thing he noticed was his body. The muscles in his arms were more defined and he could see that the originally loose fitting shirt was tighter around his arms and even more loose around his torso. Erudite didn’t stress extreme exercise so the exercise he got before was only to keep healthy, not to make his appearance better. If there was one thing the Erudite knew better than technology, it was how the human body worked. They had studied for years the best ways to prolong life and be at your healthiest and his parents had kept them strictly to that plan. Perfectly balanced meals, a strict exercise plan, and regular health check ins. Looking in the mirror now, he could see where the rigorous Dauntless training had taken his human softness and turned it into some kind of robotic sharpness. In almost two weeks Dauntless had taken an innocent boy and made him a man. And they’d done it to so many people. Dauntless sharpened you. It ground up any shred of innocence and refined perfect soldiers out of children and you either held on for dear life or let go and lost everything. 

Sometimes Connor wondered how long he’d be able to hold on before he fell off or got pushed. But that was a thought for another time for it was at this moment that the final door swung opened and Ghost beckoned for him to come in. He didn’t know the woman well but the first thing he noticed was the infinity symbol on her arm in the same place as Jay’s. The tattoo once again made Connor wonder what being that in love felt like. What being so in love with someone you’d give yourself to them forever felt like. He almost felt lost in thought when Ghost snapped her finger and brought him out of his thoughts. 

“You’re Connor right?”

He nodded. 

“You know you’re Jay’s favorite. They’ve mentioned you twice which is two more times than the average initiate.”

As he sat down in the padded chair in the center, she looked him up and down, “There’s something about you they admire. Whether it’s your bravery or your stubbornness I don’t know. Either way, it’s time to begin."

She opened her mouth to explain the simulation and Connor stopped her, “I know how it works.”

She nodded with tight lips, “Right. Erudite kid.”

She picked up the syringe and gently eased the pointed needle into his neck. He grimaced at the sting but didn’t protest. As she set down the needle, his eyes grew heavy and with a quiet “good luck” he was in the simulation. 

The room he found himself in was pitch black. Darkness blanketed his vision in every direction. He was standing in the only ring of light in the room cast by some unknown source above him. He took a step towards the edge of the light and his toe stubbed against something solid. He looked down and saw a reflection of his shoe. Connor looked up and saw his face reflected in the glass in front of him. He turned and found glass panes on all sides of himself. Something cold and wet seeped into his socks and when he looked down he saw six inches of rising water. Fear of drowning. Connor remembered learning about how the fear simulations work. All he had to do was calm himself down to the point where the simulation recognized he was no longer afraid or conquer the fear. The water had risen to his mid thigh and was rising higher by the second. He distinctly remembered entering a simulation but what if he was misremembering. What if this was real? 

He could feel his heart beating in his ears as the water passed his stomach. He needed to calm down but panic set in and he slammed his shoulder against the glass, close to one of the corners where two panes met. It was usually a weaker spot than the center. After three slams, the glass was no closer to breaking and the water was up to Connor’s shoulders rendering any momentum useless. His breath quickened for a moment as the water covered his neck. There was a foot of space between the top of his head and the roof. But it didn’t matter how high the ceiling was because he couldn’t swim to give himself those extra precious seconds of air. Instead he tilted his chin up and took a deep breath before sinking into the cold water. He could see his reflection in the pane before him. He probably had about forty-five seconds before he needed to breathe. 

But he didn’t need to breathe. 

It’s just a simulation.

He let the bubbles of air escape from his lips and realized he could breathe just fine. With a blink he found himself back in the simulation chair. He’s conquered his first fear simulation. He took a deep breath of the fresh air and sat forward. Ghost was blinking confused at her screens. 

“How’d you get air? The image wasn’t clear.”

Connor stammered over his words for a moment before saying, “I just decided to breathe.”

“Just decided to breathe?” Ghost casts a glance at him before typing something into the computer. 

A moment passed before she turned to look at him, her long ponytail swishing with her every movement. 

“How long do you think you were in the simulation?"

Connor leaned forward, his elbows perched on his knees and his chin in his right palm, “I dunno. Fifteen minutes?”

“Three,” she said, flatly. 

Connor blinked a few times. He figured the simulation didn’t last long but he didn’t think it was that short. 

“No one gets through it that fast and especially not like that.”

He was going to turn heads again. This was not good. He can’t be drawing attention. As much as he wants to stay on top he can’t be that far ahead. They’ll find him for sure. 

“A word of warning. Get through your fears like you don’t know you’re in a simulation,” Ghost said before nodding her head towards the door in the indication he could leave. 

Her warning stayed with Connor as he walked back to the dorms. Jay had said he could trust Ghost so hopefully she wouldn’t turn him in but her warning was odd. Pretend that he doesn’t know. Doesn’t everyone know? No that would be stupid. If everyone knew it wouldn’t be a challenge. Why did those two have to be so damn cryptic? 

He got back and found a few people tossing and turning in their sleep and others huddled in corners talking. Daniel was sitting with his knees pulled into his chest on his bed. Connor sat down on the edge of the bed that used to be North’s and leaned back against the wall. 

“So how are you doing?”

Daniel shrugged, “Not great.”

Connor nodded. 

“What was your fear?” Daniel said, releasing his legs and turning to look at his friend. 

“Drowning. I was trapped in this glass tank that was just filling with water. None of the glass would break.”

“How’d you get out?”

What answer could he give for that?

“I just managed to calm myself down I think. I can’t swim so once the water passed my head it was just standing in the tank and waiting for it to end. Guess my lack of breathing helped my heart stop racing and the simulation registered it as calm.”

Daniel hissed a breath of air through his teeth, “You make it sound easy.”

“What was your fear?”

Daniel shivered, “Spiders. Not the small ones the big ones. They were everywhere covering me all over. I was out in this open field and every time I got one off it came back. Some of them crawled in my ears and in my throat. It was suffocating,” Daniel shifted uncomfortably again, “I eventually got close enough to this patch of field that was on fire and threw flaming twigs at the little shits. The simulation ended once they started burning.”

Connor had never really been afraid of spiders. The biggest one that was in Chicago was the size of an old quarter and wasn’t even venomous. The second he thought of the coin Connor remembered the coin he had tucked deep in his small bag of clothes. He reached over and dug around until he felt the cold metal and pulled it out. He hadn’t touched the thing in over a week but his hands immediately found his old rhythm. Watching the coin spin in the air distracted him from the feeling of the cold water seeping into his every pore. Daniel was watching him with complete focus. He probably wanted a distraction too. 

Connor could hear the slow scraping of someone else approaching the dorms. Slowly, Nines turned the corner and his eyes scanned the room. When they landed on Connor, he hurriedly came over and gave him a hug before collapsing on his bed. 

“Connor, please don’t ever make me fight you to the death. It was not fun watching you bleed out.”

The sarcasm was there but the command was also there. Connor’s mind took a second to process the statement. He was in one of his brother’s worst fears. And the fear was that Nines would have to kill him. 

“Wasn’t planning on it.”

Connor wondered if one of his fears involved Nines. It’s not like he wanted to kill his brother so does that make it a fear? Nines silently kicked his boots off and shoved them under his bed before covering his torso with his blanket and laying down, his back turned to Connor. Another one of Nines’ fabulous coping mechanisms from their childhood. Sleep it off. The one time Connor tried that as a kid he had nightmares so bad he woke up screaming. He needed to process things for a while before just going to sleep. He raised his hands above his head to stretch. 

“So how’d you do it?”

Sev’s voice ran out above the whispers of the people in the dorms. Connor turned to see who he was taunting and met Sev’s gaze instead. He was asking him?

“How’d I do what?”

“You know. Get through it so fast! You beat every other time by at least five minutes. So how’d you get through so quick?” 

Connor could tell he wasn’t just asking, he was interrogating. He had to give some type of answer, especially since half the initiates were watching since they were shouting. 

Connor chose his words carefully, “I just reacted. I didn’t just wait for the fear to end.”

Sev approached him as he spoke, “Oh come on. No one gets through that fast. What’s your trick?”

Connor stood and faced him, “There is no trick,” and for added effect he said, “Maybe if you weren’t such a coward it would be easier.”

Sev scowled at him before shoulder checking him as he stormed out of the dorms. Connor let out a deep exhale as he stared down at his shoes. He just didn’t want to do this. He exhaled again before climbing into his bed and falling fast asleep. 

Connor found his dreams plagued with rushing water. It pushed him in every direction imaginable. It slammed into his back and swept his legs out from under him. It flooded his lungs and rushed into his ears. The water was an angry force working to kill him and he couldn’t fight the powerful currents. 

He woke up in a cold sweat. Everyone else was asleep. He slowly slid on his shoes and grabbed a black sweatshirt. He hadn’t changed out of his clothes from earlier so he just shrugged the sweatshirt over his shirt and zippered it in the front before quietly making his way out of the dorms. He needed a walk. Scratch that. He needed a rush. He started down the hallway towards the train. The halls were empty and for once Dauntless was silent. It must not be too late if none of the late parties had started yet. Probably around nine. He kicked a small stone with the toe of his shoe as he walked and the tapping it made as it hit the wall echoed down the hall. 

“Connor, what are you doing?”

He looked up from his set gaze on the floor to see Hank leaning in the doorway ahead of him. Connor shrugged. It was a valid answer since he genuinely didn’t know what he was doing. His feet seemed to want to go to the train so that’s where he was going. Hank sighed and hung his head. 

After a moment he jerked it in the direction of the train, “Well, you coming or what?”

“I guess so,” Connor said, continuing his path towards the train, “you aren’t going to stop me?"

“Hell no. I just don’t want you to die alone jumping off the train. At least let me come along to haul your body off the pavement.”

“I wasn’t planning on jumping, sir,” Connor said as they walked side by side towards the tracks. 

“I hoped not,” Hank muttered. 

They saw the pinprick of light turn the corner of the tracks and Connor started jogging along the tracks, waiting a few moments before jumping in. Hank was a little slower but he wasn’t Dauntless for nothing and managed to keep pace with the train before climbing inside. Connor sat against the wall near the door, his knees pulled up to his chest and his chin resting on top of them. Hank stood, leaning against the opposite wall and watching the compound disappear behind them through the open door. 

“Fear landscape shake you up that bad?” he commented after a few long minutes. 

Connor shook his head, “Not really the fear itself. Sure it gave me nightmares but I just needed to get away. To think.”

Hank scratched the back of his head, “You thought a night time adrenaline rush would help cure the pit building in your stomach.”

Connor said nothing, just turned his gaze to the speeding darkness outside the train car. 

“Anxiety’s a bitch. Guess initiation has gotten a bit harder since I joined.”

Connor didn’t expect Hank to actually contribute to the conversation so he pressed a little, “What was it like for you?”

Hank scoffed, “Compared to this? A walk in the park. Easy fight training and then your in. We didn’t even have aptitude simulations let alone fear sims. That Amanda Stern developed all those.”

“Did you know her?”

“Yep. She was Dauntless born same year as me.”

Connor couldn’t imagine Amanda as anyone other than the seemingly immortal figurehead she was now. He’d never even really thought about the fact she’d once been a kid and had to choose a faction. He’d never once saw her as anything other than the wickedly smart Erudite she was now. Imagining of her in dark black Dauntless clothes and fight training was an odd vision. 

“But how about you. Top of your class and yet you seem to be acting a lot like someone who has something to worry about.”

Connor stared at his shoes, “Well I do. I have to worry about Nines. I have to worry about Daniel. I keep worrying about North. I have to worry about being good enough but not too good while also not sucking so bad I fail. On top of all of that I have to worry about-“ he can’t tell anyone, “about my stupid mind that, according to the aptitude test, is hardwired to a faction that is not Dauntless.”

The statement wasn’t entirely false. 

Hank took a deep breath before saying, “So you’re worried about your brother, the third rank initiate with an amazing track record, your friend, a Dauntless born initiate with much more fight than he’s letting on, and your best friend, the woman who could kick anyone’s ass and escape unscathed. You do realize you have no control over them, right?”

Connor didn’t say anything. It’s not like he could argue with logic. He’d been conditioned since birth that logic was the only truth in the world. 

“And then you’re worried about yourself because you think if you’re too good you’ll turn too many heads and if you’re too bad you won’t turn enough heads. You’re also worried because you’re aptitude results were... undesirable.”

Undesirable was definitely a word for it. 

Hank sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose, “Well your first problem is don’t try so hard. You’re doing fine and with the scores you’re getting you’ll be a member even if you fail everything in stage two. Your second problem is completely out of your control. Don’t let it fuck you over.”

“Easier said than done,” Connor said, rising from his spot to stand across from Hank. 

Hank crossed his arms, “I knew someone once who let their results rule their life. You know where he is now?”

Connor shook his head. 

“The bottom of the chasm. He got to where you are now and then he got scared and made mistakes. Now he’s gone.”

Connor wasn’t suicidal but he didn’t think that’s what Hank meant. Hank meant someone did what he did and someone took him out for it. 

Connor tried to let the sudden realization roll off his shoulders, “So what I’m getting is worry about myself but not too much and forget about the test.”

Hank snapped his fingers, “Erudite has a brain.”

Connor rolled his eyes and slumped back down to the ground, sitting on the edge of the train and letting his feet hang out. He felt the air whip through his hair, the cold wind making his cheeks flush. He just closed his eyes and breathed it in. Hank seemed like he was genuinely trying to help and hadn’t just come along to make sure he didn’t jump. 

Connor leaned back, his feet continuing to swing in the open air and his back against the cold metal floor, “Why did you come with me?”

“Because you looked shit and I thought you might need some advice.”

“Yeah but there’s plenty of messy teenagers in the dorms who could use some help. Why me?”

Hank didn’t answer. Just turned his head and looked out the door. He didn’t speak again the whole rest of the journey. Not when Connor decided it was time to get off and jumped near the Hub. Not when they got on the train going back to Dauntless. Not when Connor was the first to disembark at the compound. Not when Connor sluggishly made his way back to the dorms, the leader trailing a few feet behind him. Connor didn’t even notice he’d left until he turned to enter the dorms and found he was no longer being followed. For some reason, he suddenly felt a lot lonelier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too many notes for this chapter, just a few things about next week. The drama is kicking up and we've got both Connor and Markus perspectives!
> 
> If you enjoyed leave a comment or a kudos! Thanks! <3


	10. An Unexpected Ally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor finds himself facing yet another one of his worst fears while Markus plots against Erudite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a few perspective shifts in this chapter so just warning you all!  
> Enjiy!

The next day went very similar to the last. Connor woke up with the other initiates, went to breakfast, and then sat while everyone else walked through their worst fears before facing one himself. This one was a mix of two fears. His fear of drowning and his fear of falling. He was hanging from the bridge over the chasm by his fingertips as the fast moving water slammed into him from all sides. It tried to push him and pull him off the bridge but each pounding wave made him hold tighter. The water in the chasm was never this high, he thought, but he also knew he had to pretend he didn’t know this was a simulation. So he let the water do it’s worst, his grip slowly failing. One of his hands slipped from the metal side and when he tried to grab hold again, the spot was slick with water. His fingers slipped and failed to grab again. The vision crossed his mind of himself falling from the bridge, his bones breaking over the rocks at the bottom and his final breaths taking in only water. Connor tried to shake the vision from his mind and evened his breathing as he grabbed at the bridge again. This time, when he got a hold on the bridge, he was going to try and pull himself up. His fingers grabbed at the slippery metal and finally he was able to hold on long enough to raise his body up over the side, shifting from his hands to his forearms to his knees. Once he was up he ran from the bridge to the side of the chasm and woke up.

Ghost gave him a smile, “What a Dauntless way of getting out of there.”

That was the only thing she said before Connor walked out of the room. Today it took him five minutes to escape his fear. When he reached the dorms he quickly fell asleep as his brain was too exhausted to function. His nightmares were filled this time with rocks pitching themselves out of the chasm as he balanced on a single beam over the rushing river. The rocks collided with the beam eventually causing his balance to falter as he fell to the water below. Before he felt the pain of collision with the jagged rocks, he sat up awake. It was the middle of the night again and almost everyone else was tossing and turning in their sleep. Connor stood and decided to go to the pit this time. He hadn’t even noticed Daniel wasn’t in bed until he saw him sitting near the edge of the chasm. Fear simulations be damned he was going to go talk with him. Connor silently sat down next to Daniel, letting his feet hang over the edge. 

“Wanna talk about it?”

Daniel shook his head, “Nah.”

Connor blew air out through his lips, “Wanna... get a tattoo?”

Daniel chuckled, “Not a bad idea, honestly.”

“Impulse tattoos never went wrong,” Connor said, smiling. 

Daniel leaned back so he was laying against the cement with his feet hanging over the edge.

“I mean I’ve been thinking about that I’d get for a while.”

“What?”

“A snake. Around my upper arm.”

Connor hummed in response. He didn’t really want any more tattoos. Three were enough for him. 

“I’ll come chill with you if you want.”

“Nah, I’m good. Could use some alone time,” he pulled his legs in and climbed to his feet, “Just don’t jump, okay?”

Connor sighed in annoyance, “Why does everyone suddenly think I want to jump off high places? I have a fear of falling!”

Daniel laughed a little louder before leaving Connor to his thoughts. He didn’t have many of them. In fact, he didn’t really want to be alone, anymore. Instead, he moved away from the ledge and stood before walking back to the dorms and trying to fall asleep. For some reason, the talking must have calmed him down because he slept dreamlessly for the rest of the night. 

—-

It was almost midnight when Markus heard a soft knock on his door. Markus and Simon had agreed not to speak of the plan until it was underway but he wasn’t going to stop Simon from telling him about his visit to Abnegation. He’d been back for a hours but from what Markus knew from the work logs, there were about twenty-four percent less people working overnight than usual. Meaning less chance they’d be caught. Markus opened the door and let him in. Markus gestured for him to keep quiet until they’d walked from the living room to the farthest corner of his bedroom. Markus carefully closed the door between the rooms and put a pillow over the vent in the corner. Once they thought the room was as soundproof as possible, they sat on the edge of Markus’ bed and talked as quietly as possible. 

“Everything go alright?”

Simon nodded, “My mother is going to keep quiet about the attack until the night before. Mom doesn’t think she’ll be able to spread the word without raising too many alarms but she said she will tell Liam Kamski and her friend Kara. They might be able to help. She and Emma are packing small bags to keep under their beds with blankets and an extra set of clothes.”

“Liam Kamski?”

“He’s a leader and close to Lucy.”

Everyone knew Lucy. She was practically the most powerful representative in the city. 

“Anything else?”

Simon paused, “There was a woman with a missing eye staying with them. My mother said she had to leave Dauntless initiation because of her injury and needed help. Her name is North. She said if we need help, there’s an initiate named Connor we should talk to. And she gave me this.”

He pulled a folded envelope from his jacket pocket. It was addressed to Connor in messy handwriting. 

Markus’ eyes went wide for a moment as he took the envelope, “I’ve met him.”

“You have?”

He nodded, “He’s Samantha and Colin’s son.”

Simon’s eyebrows raised, “So you think he’d trust you?”

“I think he’d trust her.”

Markus stared at the small envelope before folding it up again and putting it in his large jacket pocket, “I’m going back to the Dauntless lab tomorrow evening. They’ve been interviewing some of the Dauntless initiates to learn how their minds work. Maybe I can specifically request him.”

Simon nodded before reaching over and pulling Markus into a hug, “Thank you, Markus.”

“You’re the one who did all the work, I should be thanking you,” Markus spoke into his shoulder

Simon shook his head, his hair brushing the side of Markus’ cheek, “You’re saving my family.”

—-

Connor was standing in the center of the Choosing auditorium. The seats were full of blank faced Erudite sitting silent and still. Amanda Stern stepped out of the shadows behind him holding a black briefcase. She carefully opened it and held it open on the table where the bowls once sat. Inside was a handgun. 

“Load the gun,” she ordered. 

It wasn’t the order that scared him or even the gun. It was the commanding voice and the way her eyes bore through him. Amanda looked at him like he was a troublesome child being scolded. Connor took a few hesitant steps toward the case before gently lifting each piece of the weapon and slotting them together. He loaded the cartridge of bullets into the gun and checked each of the pieces to make sure it was properly assembled before Amanda snapped the case shut. Connor took a small step back. She left the case on the table and approached him. She placed a firm hand on his shoulder and turned his body to face the seats. This time, he found himself standing in front of only two people. Nines and North. Amanda wrapped a hand over the one Connor was holding the gun with and guided it up. Her hands were cold as ice and her grip was just tight enough that the metal of the gun pinched against his palm. 

“Shoot one and the other lives. Or shoot neither and all three of you die.”

Her hands dropped away from his and Connor was left with a gun aimed between his best friend and his brother. They were both quiet and still, a small smile plastered on each of their faces. Connor looked between each of them. He couldn’t choose. Slowly, he shifted his grip and brought his arm in, aiming the barrel of the gun up. He felt the cold metal press to the underside of his chin and before he could think another thought, pulled the trigger. 

There was a bang. 

And then he woke up in the simulation chair. His hand flew to where the gun had fired and checked for a wound. Nothing. Just smooth skin. Ghost finished typing something into the computer before turning to look at him. 

“You’re getting a lot better. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re just as Dauntless as the ones born here.”

That was good at least. He was acting less Divergent and more Dauntless. 

“The only thing you need to be careful of is your times. They are still very low. Today you took five minutes again. That’s not a direct indication of Divergence but it could potentially raise some flags.”

Connor nodded, “How do you know so much about this?”

Ghost’s eyes narrowed a bit, “Let’s just say this isn’t my first time getting a Divergent through the sims.”

Ghost finished her statement before pointing at the door and turning back to the computer screen. Connor stayed silent as he left. He walked towards the pit instead of the dorms. He definitely hadn’t eaten enough the past two days and was starving. He’d just been getting through training at around one and immediately crashing to try and escape his fears. One meal a day was not good for a Dauntless initiate. When he got to the dining room, it was bustling with people eating late lunches. For once Connor was actually the last initiate to leave the simulation rooms so he saw many of his fellow initiates eating lunch. Connor spotted Gavin, Chris, and Tina eating in a corner and slumped into a seat next to them. 

“Well if it isn’t one of the missing twins!” Tina said, flicking the side of his head, “We’ve been missing you two. How’s fear landscapes treating you?”

Connor shrugged, “Not well.”

Chris shuddered, “My first fear was worms. Hate those things.”

Gavin took another silent bite of his food before Tina leaned across the table and ruffled his hair, “Did you know Gavin was one of the best initiates in Dauntless history because of his fear simulation results?”

Gavin stopped chewing all of a sudden and looked at her, “What the hell, T? "

“It’s true! He only had four fears and was finished with his final simulation in fifteen minutes flat.”

Gavin looked slightly nervous for a moment before continuing to eat his food, “I’m just a mostly fearless guy.”

Connor filled his plate with food and started cramming it into his mouth in heaping bites. Skipping meals really was catching up with him. 

“So where is Nines?” Gavin said. 

The face he made looked like he didn’t actually care but Connor knew he did. 

“Probably sleeping. Seems to be what all of us have been doing.”

“Think there’s a chance I could drag him out of there?”

“Probably.”

Gavin pushed back from the table, “Guess there’s only one way to find out. Later losers.”

He didn’t wait for a response before walking off in the direction of the dorms. Tina and Chris left a few minutes later before Connor finished. Once he had properly filled his stomach, he walked to the chasm and sat down. He wanted to try out the rock wall but not right after eating a big meal. The water below was higher than usual as it slammed against the rocks. It was nice to just sit and not have to think about anything. Of course, trying not to think just let thoughts he’d been repressing come forward. Like how worried he was about North. Or how when she needed him most all he could think about was what dating her would be like. Or what Hank had told him the night before. 

This chasm had probably seen a lot of death. People throwing themselves into the bottom because they couldn’t take it anymore. Others being thrown over by people who were afraid of them. Maybe his reoccurring nightmares of falling in weren’t as unrealistic as he hoped they were. He might find out if in a few days someone discovers what he is. The final exam was in four days. Two more days of simulation training, one day through the fear landscape, and then it was exam day. He’d have to do it in front of all of Dauntless leadership. He probably hasn’t even faced all the fears he will have to face in the landscape. Colin once made him read a whole book about how every simulation worked so Connor already knew how the fear landscape progressed. He knew he’d be aware during the simulation and that it would go through all his fears no matter how long it took. Connor leaned back and rested his head on his hands, looking up at the glass ceiling above. It was raining outside. 

He let his eyes close and his other senses became sharper. He could hear a million conversations happening in the pit and the sound of rain pounding against the glass ceiling hundreds of feet above and the rushing of the river below. He could smell the water in the chasm and the constant smell of sweat from the Dauntless. He could feel the cool of the stone through his clothes and the chill of the water as it slowly seeped through the ankles of his pants. Slowly, he felt the pull of sleep take over but before he could fall into it, someone spoke his name. 

“You’re Connor, right?”

Connor slowly opened his eyes and looked up. He found himself staring into those blue and green eyes he’d met before. 

“Yeah. You’re Markus?”

He nodded, “I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about your experience with simulations. For research purposes.”

Connor stood up with a shrug, “What do I have to lose.”

A lot actually. Connor had quite a lot to lose. But it’s not like he could say no. Markus was just a teen like him doing what he was told. If he said no it would be a lot more suspicious than whatever lie he could spin. Connor was beginning to seriously doubt his Candor result. 

Markus gave him a small smile before directing him up the path to the second floor. For a moment Connor thought he might finally get to see what was behind those doors but instead Markus led him up to the third floor and then higher to the fourth before walking down a hallway. Connor was a bit confused. All that was up here was the fear landscape room and storage. Markus checked behind them before pulling Connor into one of the storage rooms. 

“Don’t talk, just read,” Markus said, shoving a folded envelope into his hands. 

Connor did as he was told and unfolded the envelope. The envelope was plain and blank except for his name that was written on the front in handwriting he didn’t recognize. He carefully peeled the envelope open and unfolded the letter inside. 

Connor,

You need to trust Markus. I’m with a family in Abnegation right now, safe, but not for long. I can’t write down what we’re doing in case someone intercepts this letter but please just trust Markus and Simon. I’ll see you soon. 

-North

Connor’s hands were shaking as he read the letter. North was safe but something was happening. Something so bad she couldn't write it down. He looked up as he finished and Markus was still watching the door. 

“What does this mean? What’s happening?”

Markus looked back at him before digging into his pocket and pulling out a small vial of orange liquid, “This serum makes people more susceptible to suggestion. It’s basically mind control. Erudite have a plan to use it on the Dauntless in less than two weeks to attack Abnegation and hunt Divergents.”

Connor’s heart nearly stopped at that. Erudite was going to actively hunt Divergents. If Connor wasn’t sure he was in danger before, he was sure now. 

“We have a plan. There’s a warehouse on the corner of eighty-sixth and elm. My friend Simon and your friend North are going to try and help some of the Abnegation people escape. North said you might be able to help.”

Connor found himself at a loss for words. The entire Abnegation faction was in danger, Connor was even more at risk than he thought, and this man he barely knew was staking their entire mission on him not telling leadership. He could go tell them and solidify his loyalty to the faction system. There’d be no doubt in their minds anymore. He’d be safe. At the expense of an entire faction, this group who was putting their trust in him, and his best friend. He couldn’t betray them. It was stupid to even consider the possibility. How could he help them, though?

Markus put a gentle hand on his shoulder and Connor met his gaze. His eyes were both firm and soft. Like he was both begging for help and commanding him to act. His gaze was powerful and something inside Connor clicked. 

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to get you a large group of help but I’ll do everything I can by myself.”

That seemed to be enough for Markus because he offered him a small smile before pulling him into a hug. Connor was hesitant to return the gesture. He didn’t even know Markus. It was just something about this blind trust that made him hug back. After a moment Markus let go and looked at the door once again. 

“I was supposed to be asking you questions about how your simulations worked. For some reason, leadership seemed very interested when I offered to interview you for them. Apparently your aptitude test had an anomaly. Do you know anything about that?”

Yes. 

“No. All I know is the test made me sick to my stomach.”

Markus’ eyebrows pulled together for a moment before he continued, “That is odd.”

When he looked back at Connor, he found his face creased with worry. 

Markus hastily tried to fix his mistake, “Don’t worry I won’t tell them anything you tell me! I’m already plotting against them. What’s one more lie?”

Connor nodded and let out a sigh, “I don’t mean to pry, Markus, but what are the Erudite hiding behind those doors on the second floor?”

“Computers. A lot of them. I think they’re going to run the simulation from there.”

“Then why don’t you shut it down yourself?”

“The place is always teaming with Erudite. The coding isn’t finished so people are always working there. I was helping them, too. I’ve been asked to be on the overseer team during the attack along with...” Markus trailed off for a moment. 

What if he backs out when he hears his parents are running the simulation with him?

“Along with Elijah Kamski and Amanda Stern. I thought that might be an easier time to try to take down the simulation.”

Connor nodded again, staring down at his shoes, “Do you... do you know if my parents are involved? Samantha and Colon Fair?”

Shit. 

Markus chose his words carefully, “I know they probably are in some way. They’re two of Erudite’s top scientists. There’s a good chance they’ll be there.”

Connor didn’t answer. 

“That won’t make you back out, right?”

Connor shook his head, “Nah. I’m just disappointed that they really aren’t the good people my brother and I were raised to believe they were.”

Markus wondered what it would be like to find out Carl was planning something like this. The thought seemed so foreign and wrong. Carl was too kind for something like this. Connor didn’t have the luxury of completely honest parents, he guessed. 

“Okay I think I need to go back now. I’ll see you soon, Connor,” Markus said, giving Connor another smile before holding the door so they could both leave in total silence. 

Markus split away when they reached the pathway and Connor took a turn towards the training gym. Somehow he always found himself back in this room when he was stressed. He took a few swings at the punching bag. Then a few more. Pretty soon he was taking all his anger and frustration out on the swinging bag. Weeks of pent up fear all let out with each punch. Each swing was more forceful than the last. 

He just kept going harder and harder until his hands were numb with soreness. Connor wasn’t even sure how long he stood there but when he stopped his arms and forehead were coated in a thin layer of sweat. Connor looked at his knuckles and found a few of them were split from the constant impacts. It had felt good to get some kind of emotion out without crying. Connor walked over to the bathroom and washed his hands in the cool water before starting back to the dorms. As he walked down the path, he could see the sky darkened outside. It was still raining. There was a faint, rolling noise as the drops of water hit the glass. 

Connor turned to walk down the corridor to the dorms but he hadn’t a moment to think as someone grabbed him from behind and wrapped something over his eyes. Two people pinned his arms to his sides and shoved him towards the path over the chasm. Before he could tell, one of the assailants clamped a hand over his mouth. He was unprepared and caught off guard, three against one. He could hear the water splashing in the bottom of the chasm. They were close. Connor’s brain finally caught up with him and he tried kicking at one of the people holding his arms but the two people still pulling threw off his balance. Someone punched him in the side. He could feel the nails on the hands gripping him scratch against his skin. He bit down on the hand over his mouth, tasting the copper taste of blood, and tried to yell as loud as he could. Another hand covered his mouth before the sound could escape, this time shoving a piece of cloth into his mouth. 

Whoever he’d bit had sworn and Connor could tell the voice belonged to Sev. They were very close to the chasm now. He could smell the water. He tried again to shove away someone but it was no use. One of the people pushing him slipped and he their nails scraped across his cheek. He felt the railing of the bridge against his back and attempted to grab the metal. Connor felt the cold rail press into his spine and it started to hurt as the weight of three people pressed him against it. The railing creaked under the pressure and Connor was sure this was the end for him. Until he heard a shout. 

“What the fuck are you doing!” Hank yelled over the roar of the water. 

There were frantic footsteps as the three dropped Connor back onto the bridge and tried to run. Hank must have hit one of them because someone groaned in pain as something else cracked. Sev frantically called for them to get out of there. As the footsteps retreated, Connor pulled the blindfold off his eyes and spit out whatever was in his mouth. He slowly stood, relying on the railing for support as the world spin. He must have hit his head when they dropped him back onto the bridge. Hank came over to help him back to solid ground. 

“You alive, kid?”

“Been better but yeah.”

Hank looked him over for a moment, “C’mon. I’ve got better first aid stuff in my apartment. I’ll get you fixed up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our endgame couple finally had a full conversation! (And the first thing Connor mentions is his eyes) I believe we are two chapters away from the big climax of this first part of the story! Woohoo! I know we have been stuck in this sort of lull of build up for the last few chapters but it's all going to pay off soon. I have 99% of the story mapped out and it's going to pick up speed very fast come Insurgent timeline. There are some scenes that I am just itching to write. I also just can't wait to actually write some RK1K at some point (seriously this is the slowest slowburn I've ever read and I'm the writer!)  
> But anyways, thank you all for reading!  
> And Happy Halloween!
> 
> If you enjoyed leave a comment or a kudos! Thank you! <3


	11. The Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DRAMA

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I’m really trying but chapter summaries that don’t spoil things are hard.

Hank’s apartment was cluttered and smelled like alcohol but Connor couldn’t complain. He’d tried to protest coming up but Hank was having none of it. He pointed at his bed and told Connor to sit while he grabbed the first aid stuff. There was no kitchen or dining area. Just a simple bedroom, closet, bathroom, and a locked door. A picture hung on the wall of Hank, a woman, and a young boy. A few items of clothing were tossed on the floor and a bin of beer bottles was left by the door but other than the clutter, the apartment was relatively clean. The bed was made and there wasn’t much dust to be seen. 

Connor simply sat on the edge of Hank’s bed and looked at his hands folded in his lap. The few blistered knuckles from his reckless training were now trickling blood, reopened from his attempted murder. There was a lingering sting on his cheek, arms, and back and his side was sore. He was probably already numb to some of the pain in other places. Connor fully expected to find his body covered in black and blue bruises the next morning. Hank returned with a bottle of disinfectant and some bandages. Connor held out a hand to take them but Hank ignored it. Instead he just turned over his outstretched hand and looked at the injuries. 

“All this from those guys?”

Connor shook his head, “No I’d been training before they attacked me. Went a little overboard.”

Hank nodded and reached for the disinfectant. 

“Hank you don’t need to. I can do it myself.”

At this Hank just shook his head, “I’m not letting you do this yourself. Especially since you were almost just murdered.”

He poured a little of the disinfectant onto a paper towel and dabbed it on Connor’s knuckles making him flinch. The liquid stung and bubbled in each of the cuts. Honestly it hurt more than it had before the disinfectant. Connor didn’t say anything, though, and just sat through the stinging pain tingling in his hands. after the fizzing stopped, Hank wiped the blisters off with a paper towel before reaching a hand up to Connor’s chin. 

“They really did a number on you, kid.”

Connor moved his face away from the touch and looked back down at the ground, “So much for top of my class, huh?”

“They surprised you three to one and you put up a good fight. Honestly if you’d been anyone else you would have been dead before I could catch up with you.”

Hank poured more of the disinfectant onto a new paper towel. He tilted Connor’s chin to the side and dabbed it on the deep scratches on his right cheek. Connor flinched away after the first touch but he grit his teeth and let Hank clean the rest of the scratches. As the tingling pain faded again, Hank offered Connor a clean paper towel to wipe off the excess. 

“Bathroom’s over there. Grab a shower if you want.”

Connor just shook his head, “I should be getting back to the dorms.”

“Hell no. You almost got murdered. Like I’m going to let you just leave and go back to those dorms. You can sleep on the bed. I’ve got a whole floor to myself,” before Connor could protest Hank added, “That’s an order.”

Connor closed his mouth without letting any sound out and sighed. If he wasn’t getting special treatment before he was now. 

The only word Connor asked was, “Why?” 

Hank hesitated before speaking, “You remember that boy I told you about? The one they killed?”

Connor nodded.

“He was my son, Cole.”

Hank pulled the picture off the wall and handed it to Connor. 

“He was Divergent. He never told me but I knew. The night before they killed him he came to me and said he wasn’t suicidal and that he loved me. I didn’t understand it then but now I do. He knew they were going to kill him. My wife passed away when Cole was really little. He was all I had left.”

Hank paused a moment, “When he died I made a promise to him at his funeral. I promised that if I ever met another kid like him that I wouldn’t let them meet the same fate.”

Connor took his eyes off the photo and looked up at Hank. 

“Things can change very fast in Dauntless and even though leadership doesn’t know now, in two days they might. So you need to be careful. Act the exact way you’ve been trained to act. You can’t just give up, you have to fight through the simulations. It doesn’t matter if you rank first or last as long as you act Dauntless enough to trick them. I can only do so much convincing on my end. The rest is up to you.”

Hank took the photo and hung it back up on the wall. He grabbed a blanket and pillow out of the closet and laid them out on the floor. 

Connor pressed his feet to the cold cement and walked over to the bathroom. The first thing he did once the door closed was sleep off his shirt. There were deep purple bruises forming along his sides and across his back. There was a long scrape that was almost deep enough to be called a cut where the metal railing had pressed against his skin. His arms were no better and were covered in scratches and bruises. There were a few obvious spots on his face that he wouldn’t be able to hide the next day. 

He stripped out of his pants and underwear before reaching over and turning on the water. He hadn’t had a private shower in ages. Connor wanted to spend an hour scrubbing away every spot of dirt from his skin that his hasty showers had missed in the weeks past. At the same time he didn’t want to use anymore of Hank’s things since he’d already been generous enough. He settled for just standing under the hot water and letting the droplets stream down his skin. 

The water was warm enough that steam clouded the air so each breath was heavy with moisture. His thoughts were empty for once, focused only on the consistent sound of water hitting the floor and the feeling of warmth enveloping him like a hug. He turned his back to the spray and let the water sooth the scratches left there. At first they stung but after a moment they felt better. After what seemed like a reasonable amount of time, Connor turned the water off. 

He stood still for a moment, the sudden waft of cool air sensing a chill up his spine, before reaching out and grabbing a towel. He dried his hair and skin as best he could and then folded the towel so he could step out onto the floor. His clothes were torn in a few places but he didn’t want to bother Hank again by asking for something new to wear. He pulled them back on, once again hiding his injuries and draped the folded towel over the rack on the wall. 

He gently laid a hand on the door handle and turned off the lights before quietly stepping into the, now dark, apartment. The only light was streaming in from a set of long windows along the top of the room. Connor could see where Hank had fallen asleep on the floor and gently stepped around him before climbing into the bed. It smelled, like the rest of the apartment, lightly of alcohol but otherwise was clean. The blankets and pillows were much softer than the ones in the dorms. Connor’s last thought before falling asleep was how the first thing he was going to do when he got an apartment of his own was buy a set of soft pillows and blankets. 

—-

Connor woke up before Hank so he grabbed his jacket and left without a word. He quietly made his way through the hallways to the dorms. Half the initiates were gone already and there were a few people taking showers. Connor needed a change of clothes. He wanted a proper shower but decided to wait until no one else could see how scraped up he was. He pulled out a soft black tee-shirt and some loose fitting black pants and covered himself with his blanket while he changed. Once he’d shrugged on the new shirt and changed his pants, he wandered over to the tall mirror. 

His hair was wild from being slept on slightly damp. He tried taming the curls but in the end he let them fall wherever they wanted. The scratches on his cheek were still red and irritated, bruises and scratches covered his upper arms from the hands. Connor walked into the bathroom and ran his hands under warm water in the sink before splashing a bit on his face. He shook the water off his hands and used the hem of his shirt to dry his face before leaving the dorms, walking towards the cafeteria. 

At a far table, Nines said something that made Daniel laugh and Gavin choke on his water. Tina and Chris were nowhere in sight. Now Connor had a choice. Play up his injuries to make Sev think he affected him or act like nothing is wrong. The fact Sev and those other two came after him at all shows he feels more than just a little threatened by him. Playing up his injuries would make them think they won and maybe get them to leave him alone. It would also give them leverage over him. He’d have to continue acting like they scared him after he was healed. Connor carefully stepped over to the empty seat next to his brother. 

“Hey, Con, you never came back last night where’d you go?” At first Nines didn’t look up from his plate but when he met eyes with Connor, his expression turned to one of concern. 

At this Connor’s mind was made up. Time to act utterly terrified. Nines gently raised his hand to touch the scratches on Connor’s cheek and Connor flinched away. The touch didn’t actually hurt him but the more it looked like it had, the better the chance they’d believe his acting. 

“What happened?” Nines questioned.

His voice was calm and yet it sounded angry. Connor may be the older twin (by five minutes) but it’s obvious the protective sibling genes went to Nines. 

“Last night. A couple people they... they attacked me. Tried to throw me into the chasm,” Connor let his voice break a few times as he tripped over his planned words, “Hank stopped them. He let me stay in his apartment in case they tried again.”

Gavin swore under his breath and looked over his shoulder at where the leaders were sitting. Hank was missing from the table. Connor kept his eyes trained on the edge of the table and he felt Nines’ gaze raking over his skin. Connor knew he was looking for more injuries. It didn’t take him long to notice the scrapes on his brother’s arms and the cuts on his knuckles. He gently rubbed his thumb over the scabbed scrapes on Connor’s arm. 

“Did you see who?”

Connor planned his next actions very carefully. He’d seen Sev sitting at a table just a few down from their own. He quickly looked at where the coward was sitting before looking back at his hands and shaking his head. Nines took a deep breath. He’d noticed. Nines leaned over and gave Connor a careful hug. Daniel and Gavin had gone silent. 

“Aw did someone get a little scared last night?” came a teasing voice from behind Connor. 

He hadn’t even noticed Sev had gotten up. He was smirking over Connor’s shoulder. There was a piece of white tape over the bridge of his nose and his hand was wrapped in the same tape. Nines grit his teeth and Connor grabbed his arm. 

“Don’t,” was the only word he said. 

Nines looked from his brother to Sev before standing up and shoving past him. He stomped out of the cafeteria, off to go scream into the chasm. Connor thought it had gone well until Daniel spoke up. 

“Fuck off, Sev.”

Connor gasped quietly. He had almost forgotten other people could talk too. 

“What was that, Danny?” Sev said, fixing his sleeve from where Nines had pushed him. 

Daniel looked Sev right in the eyes, “Fuck. Off.”

Sev leaned a hand on the table and rested his other on Connor’s shoulder. Now Connor didn’t even have to act uncomfortable. 

“Or what?”

Daniel’s nostrils flared a moment before he lunged across the table, shoving Sev into the people behind. Sev swore before regaining his balance and taking a swing at Daniel from across the table. Connor ducked out of the way and got out of the way of the fighting initiates. Daniel dodged the punch before jumping over the table and kicking Sev in the stomach as he did. Sev stunned back, winded, and barreled forward into Daniel’s abdomen. He tossed Daniel over his shoulder and dropped him onto the floor. Daniel stood back up, blood dripping from his nose. 

“That’s enough!” Fowler yelled before they could continue, “Keep the fighting in the ring.”

Daniel and Sev glared at each other before Sev stalked out of the cafeteria. Gavin handed Daniel a wad of napkins for his nose. 

“You didn’t have to do that,” Connor said, walking with Daniel towards the simulation rooms. 

“Yes I did. That asshole tried to kill you and had the audacity to lay a hand on you in front of me. I wasn’t just going to sit there and let you take it.”

“Well, thank you.”

Daniel shrugged, “No problem. It was also a little because I think he was the one who stabbed North so kicking him felt really good.”

Connor let out a little chuckle. Daniel was probably right. No one else really had enough motive to want North gone except maybe the two people who’d helped Sev. They found seats in the waiting hall. Gavin and Tina were talking quietly in the front of the room as people filed in. Once the seats were filled, Gavin turned to address the initiates. 

“Alright as you all know you are still being evaluated on your performances in these fear simulations. When you return to the dorms today your scores will be updated. They will be updated every day until the final exam. Remember, only the top ten will be made members. Everyone else might find their time well spent packing.”

Gavin’s words seemed harsh but they also held a warning. He was warning the bottom initiates that they wouldn’t have time to prepare once they were cut. They would just be told to leave, much like the last initiates. No chance Connor was going to let that happen, especially since now Markus was relying on him. 

It was a long time before Connor stepped over the threshold into the sterile smelling simulation room. Ghost nodded at the chair and, like every wing before, rubbed an antiseptic wipe over his skin before pressing the needle in. There was a slight bruise on the side of his neck where day after day he’d been given the serum, the needles making new puncture wounds faster than his body could heal them. He closed his eyes and drifted into the simulation. 

When he opened them he was in an open field, outside the wall. The air was thick and hot, like he was breathing in honey. Amanda appeared in front of him holding a gun out to her side, the barrel pointing at a young girl’s head. 

“All you have to do is take this gun from me and she will be spared, Connor.”

Her voice was smooth, calm. Connor attempted to step towards her but couldn’t move his legs. He looked down and found his arms and legs tied to his sides, his back pressed firmly against a tall wooden stake. 

“You have one minute,” Amanda said, flicking the safety off on the gun. 

Connor struggled against the ropes. He looked for any small frayed edge or weak spot but found none. His hands were near his pockets. Suddenly an idea came to his mind. 

“Thirty seconds, Connor.”

He dug in his pocket, his mind knowing there would be a knife. His fingers closed around the cold handle of the blade and he wasted no time in angling the sharp edge against the rope. In a just a few more seconds he’d be through. 

“Twenty.”

Connor quickly decided the blade would cut through even faster and then the ropes fell away from his arms. He bent to cut the ropes around his feet but they’ed turned to heavy metal chains. 

“Ten.”

Connor frantically grabbed at the chains. 

“Nine.”

It was no use, they were locked. 

“Eight.”

He wished they were rope. 

“Seven.”

The chains blinked away and reappeared as rope. Connor quickly cut away at the restraints as Amanda counted three more seconds. As soon as he was through he dove for Amanda’s outstretched arm and tore the gun out of her hand. The scene melted away and he was back in the simulation room. 

Ghost was smiling, “Good job, Connor.”

That was the first time she had outright complimented him. He had to be doing something right. He nodded his thanks before walking back to the dorms. When he arrived the scoreboard was already lit up with the rankings. Connor found his name still in the first spot and felt a spot of pride along with a lingering feeling of dread. He followed down the list and was surprised to find Daniel’s name in the second spot. Sev was in fifth to Connor’s dismay. He continued down and felt his heart sink when he saw his brother’s name in the eleventh spot. How’d he drop below the line? Connor looked over at his bed but Nines wasn’t there. Daniel was missing as well. He should really check in with them. Connor stepped back out of the dorms and walked down the hall to the Pit. 

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” a familiar voice yelled. 

Who could Sev be fighting with this time?

“I dunno someone who’s just better than you!” that voice belonged to Daniel. 

Connor walked a bit faster. 

“That’s rich! You’re just lucky!”

“If lucky means I’m not a coward, then yes.”

Connor stepped into the pit to see a few people watching the floor above. They were arguing on the pathway to the second floor. Connor took off up the ramp knowing something like this could only end poorly. 

“Watch your mouth, Danny!”

“That’s not my name!” 

Sev groaned in pain and Connor assumed Daniel had hit him. He heard a few more shouts as they swung at each other. Just a few more steps. Connor stepped up onto the second floor landing just as he heard Daniel’s shout of pure terror. 

What he saw was Sev standing angrily by the edge of the path, alone. 

What he heard was the screams of people below as his friend fell to his death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I have a lot of things to say about this one. So starting off I tried really hard to get Sumo in there and I just couldn’t think of a way that wouldn’t make me sad later. I’m sorry, Sumo!   
> Next, we are FINALLY nearing the end of our first book, Divergent! And goddamn if I’m not ready to be done writing rising action. I love Veronica Roth and I LOVE Divergent but my gosh this woman really wrote an entire book of build up. The Insurgent arc is going to be nothing but drama, I promise. I have so many amazing things planned for Insurgent.   
> This chapter and the next were genuinely difficult for me to write because I feel like every chapter lately has one significant event and then it’s just daily Dauntless shit. Gets hard to write and I’m sure it’s been hard to read. But I promise you all we have almost reached that pivotal moment in Divergent where everything suddenly goes into the lightning round.   
> As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Thank you for reading!
> 
> If you enjoyed, leave a comment or a kudos! Thank you! <3


	12. The Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally we getting to the end of build up!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to my chemistry teacher who didn’t question it one bit when I stayed after to ask her how air flow worked in vents. She didn’t even bat an eye and was happy to talk to me for five minutes about air pressure and all sorts of stuff because I was curious and the internet gave me nothing. So shout out to her for being so chill with my random question!

Dauntless had done something to Connor. He was always the emotional twin. Nines was always the one who shut down. But as he stood watching Fowler give some bullshit speech he didn’t mean at Daniel’s funeral, he couldn’t bring himself to cry. Instead he felt empty. Like his emotions had left him. He’d lost two friends in a week and his mind couldn’t process it. He didn’t speak to anyone the rest of the day. He silently watched as Sev was told to leave the compound. Dauntless didn’t tolerate murderers. Nines tried to talk to him and he brushed him off. What was there to say?

It wasn’t right. His friend was dead. He was supposed to be sad. He was supposed to cry. Instead he was sitting in emotionless silence waiting for his final time through the simulation. Ghost didn’t try to make him talk. Just nodded and gave him the serum for the last time. 

He was standing on the path above the pit floor, his heels over the edge. Sev came out of the hallway and stood before him, a crooked smile plastered on his face. He let Connor look over him for a moment before lunging out and trying to push him off the edge. Connor grabbed his wrists and turned him around so instead he was standing safely on the ledge and Sev was hanging over a deadly fall. He grasped at anything could reach begging Connor not to let him fall. He wanted to. He wanted to let him fall and die against the stone like he’d done to Daniel. But he couldn’t. Instead he pulled him back into the path and shoved him towards the pathway. When he regained his balance, Sev ran down the ramp and away from Connor. 

The simulation faded and Ghost paid him no pitying glances as he left. He hadn’t expected her to. Connor stopped to get a plate of food in the cafeteria and went back to the dorms to look at the scoreboard. His name was still glowing in first. He didn’t recognize any of the names between his and Nines. The two spots left open by Sev and Daniel had helped move him above the line. He had moved up one spot on his own and was now in eighth. 

—-

The night passed uneventfully, terrors of falling from that ledge creeping into Connor’s mind with cold fingers. Today they’d be going through an instructor’s fear landscape. They were grouped around Gavin as he explained how the landscape worked. Everyone would be aware during the landscape and like the normal fear training, they had two ways to get out. Chris had volunteered his fear landscape for them to go through. He had twelve fears that had been randomly assigned to each initiate. Connor was assigned to claustrophobia. Nines was assigned to agoraphobia. 

Connor was once again going to go last. He also knew he was about to learn some very personal things about Chris. This hallway had no waiting room chairs. They could either stand and watch other people go through or they could sit on the floor. Connor sat against the wall with his knees pulled in. He rested his forehead on his arms and tried to clear his head. Claustrophobia was a fear of small, enclosed spaces. He wondered what fear Daniel would have been assigned. It’s not fair. He should have been there. It wasn’t even his fault. Sev just pushed him. What would North say when she found out? He’d have to tell her. 

Time had gone by faster than he expected because they soon called for him to enter the simulation room. Almost all the initiates were still crowded around the door, waiting to watch the top initiate go through the landscape. He quietly maneuvered his way into the room and took a seat in the center. Leadership wasn’t watching today but Gavin, Tina, Chris, and Ghost were. Ghost was the one to give him the serum and was the last face he saw as he went under. 

This was different. He immediately knew it wasn’t real. Metal panels blocked him into a closed tunnel where he was lying on his stomach. No light source was present and yet the tunnel was dimly lit. It reminded him of a ventilation shaft. He army crawled a few feet forward, the metal almost too close for him to fit through. In front of him was a fork in the tunnel. There had to be some way out and one of these tunnels would lead him to it. Connor shifted a hand to his pocket, an uncomfortable movement in such a small space and imagined a box of matches. The cardboard box he managed to pull out was full of the small sticks. He struck one and held it out into the tunnel. The flame flickered and blew to the left with what must have been a slight draft. Connor had no idea what what on either end of the tunnel meaning he couldn’t guess which air pressure was higher or lower. If he’d been in Erudite the area inside would be higher pressure than outside since they try to keep everything sterile. Connor thought for a moment before deciding the pressure outside is higher than inside. The match flame wavered for a moment before steadying once again over the left tunnel. 

He waved the match out and crawled down the right tunnel, the walls somehow getting even more pressed against him. He reached another form and lit yet another match. This time the flame led him to the left. Connor blew the match out this time before slowly crawling down the next tunnel. He was slowly starting to realized why this was one of Chris’s fears. It felt like the walls were swallowing him, trying to crush him like a can. He pressed forward more until he could barely crawl, the walls so tight around his shoulders. He pressed his palms against the walls and tried to gain some leverage against the solid sheets of metal. His feet slipped and skidded against the walls as he inches slowly onward, hoping he was close to the exit. The light grew dimmer and dimmer until he was in total darkness. His hands suddenly gripped an edge and he pulled himself forward as hard as he could, emerging from the dark tunnel and dropping to the floor. 

His shoulder hit the ground and he woke up. He took a few deep breaths, suddenly feeling more aware of the walls of the room, but after a moment stood up. He shook each of his limbs free of the prison he’d just crawled through and started towards the door. 

“Connor!” Gavin called, walking over to catch up with him. 

“You did amazing! That was the best time I’ve seen all day, hell, that might have been the best time since I went through!” he reached out and draped an arm over his shoulder. 

Connor managed a small smile, “Thanks.”

The hallway had cleared of the audience that had watched him go through the simulation. Gavin looked down at his feet for a moment. 

“Look, I’m sorry about your friend. It wasn’t fair. He didn’t deserve it.”

Connor’s face fell again and he just gave a simple nod. He shrugged Gavin’s arm off his shoulders. Gavin shoved his hand into his jacket pocket. 

They stopped outside the dorms, “Do you want me to grab Nines?”

Gavin looked down at the ground for a moment with a chuckle before looking back up, “Yeah if you don’t mind.”

Connor nodded before walking over to where his brother was laying with his face covered with a pillow. 

“Hey idiot, your boyfriend wants you.”

There was a muffled groan, “Tell him I died.”

Connor looked over at the door, “He’s dead.”

Gavin walked over and sat on the side of Nines’s bed, “What? Did you get that embarrassed by a simulation that now you don’t want to talk to me?”

Nines nodded against the pillow. Gavin glanced around the room to see if anyone was looking before lifting the pillow and placing a kiss on his cheek. 

“Well if you want to pull yourself out of your misery, you can sleep at my place. I have a much nicer bed than these dorms and you’re going to need a good nights sleep for tomorrow.”

Nines lifted the pillow up a little, “You’re being much nicer than usual. What gives?”

“Am I not allowed to care about my boyfriend?” 

“Your version of caring about me is laughing at my misery.”

“True. But I also want you to pass your exam so do you want to sleep at my place or not?”

Nines nodded and dropped the pillow onto his bed, “Oh god yes. Anything to get off these literal pieces of cardboard.”

Connor quietly laughed at their special version of affection as he sat on the edge of his own bed, “Is this and open invitation? I’d love to sleep on a real bed.”

“Nope, sorry. I can only handle one twin at a time and I’d choose him over you any day,” Gavin replied. 

Connor shrugged, “If I fail it’s your fault.”

Nines let out a short laugh, “Oh please. You? Fail? You’ve been in the first spot since the end of day one. If you fail, it’s rigged.”

Connor didn’t want to be reminded of his apparent god status among the initiates. He’d heard whispers from the others about how he’d been cheating or had some way of making it easier. It took all his willpower not to turn and scream it wasn’t easy for him either. Nines and Gavin were gone without waiting for him to respond. 

Connor dropped to the floor from his bed and reached under. He’d gotten himself a small duffel bag for his things. It was easier to grab if he had to run. Inside was a clean outfit and his favorite jacket, his coin, and three letters. One was the letter from North. The other two were ones he had written to Nines and Hank just in case. If something happened he wanted Nines to know everything. He gently held the letter, looking at his own hand writing on the folded sheet, before burying it under he rest of the contents of the bag. He picked up Hank’s letter next. This one was to remind Hank he hadn’t broken his promise. He wanted him to know if something happened to him it wasn’t his fault. Connor hid that one in the bottom too before taking North’s letter and crawling back into his bed. 

He had read it over and over again since he’d received it and he still had no idea how to help. He couldn’t get them an army if that’s what they were looking for. The only thing he could get them is himself and maybe a gun. The more he looked at this letter, the more stressed he became. Connor took a deep breath and folded the letter again before dropping it into the bag and kicking it back under the bed. 

—-

They were testing them in alphabetical order by first name. There was one person before Connor and then he’d go through his fear landscape. Most people had ten or twelve fears to go through. He highly doubted he’d have that many considering how he’d been doing thus far. The initiates couldn’t see the simulation but they could see the person’s reaction on the screen before them. Connor couldn’t bring himself to watch. His knee shook and he had to press his hand on it to stop the shaking. 

Everything was going to be fine. 

“Connor, you’re up,” Hank called from the doorway. 

Okay less fine. 

Nines squeezed his shoulder as he stood, brushing his hands on his pants to remove the sweat. He took a shaky breath before walking in. 

“Just keep doing what you’ve been doing and you’ll be fine,” Hank whispered before rejoining the other leaders by the monitors. 

Connor composed himself for a moment before walking as confidently as possible to the chair. Jay was running the simulation. They pushed a few buttons before injecting him with the serum. 

“Good luck, Connor.”

They pressed a few more buttons and the world faded away. 

—-

Connor opened his eyes and found his reflection mirrored in front of him. He placed a hesitant hand against the surface. The mirror was cold and solid. He turned and reached his hands out in every direction, his reflection staring at him from all sides. His ankles grew colder by the second and Connor didn’t have to look down to know it was filling with water. He was trapped in a box filling with water. What a familiar simulation. This time he needed to find a less Divergent way of escaping. He looked up to see the top of the box was a simple grate. He scanned along the sides hoping to find hinges. 

The hinges he willed into existence were facing so that the grate opened inward. Perfect. The grate was a foot above himself so before the water could pass his knees, he jumped with as much force as he could to grab the bars on the grate and swing. He took a deep breath and swung his feet up against the small area of ceiling that wasn’t grate and pushed with all his force. He felt the bars give a little as the cold water brushed his back. He pushed again, his muscles straining with the pull of gravity. He could feel the water lapping at his hair. Connor pushed all his weight against the grate and it came free, pushing him down with it. Connor held his grip against the grate and used the bars as a ladder to climb out of the mirror prison. 

The ground he placed his feet on was solid and metallic. The hole he had crawled out of closed behind him, the bars remaining. He turned and saw the expanse below him. He could see no ground below and nothing around for him to get to. He had to get down somehow. Maybe some really strong rope. He turned again and found a large coil of thick rope. He secured one end around the bars of the door and tossed the other end over the side. He had no harness so he was going to have to rely solely on his own hands and feet. He took a deep breath, wrapped his wrists in the rope, and took a careful step off the ledge. He placed his feet solid against the side of what seemed to be a tall building and slowly walked down. His wrists quickly began to hurt from rope burn but Connor knew there would be no real damage done. 

He gritted his teeth against the pain and kept going. He carefully stepped down the side of the building but was not prepared to slip. He was falling much faster towards the ground and his only means of stopping was the rope. He grabbed ahold of the rope as tight as he could, his palms burning and tearing apart as gravity pulled him faster downward. His efforts were not in vain though as he came to a slow stop with his feet inches off the ground. He let out a deep sigh of relief and stepped down onto soft ground in tall grass. 

His wrists were still wrapped in rope and being held above him. The rope was now attached to some kind of structure once used to hang people from for execution. A house stood in front of him, flames leaping out the windows. Inside, he could hear someone screaming for help. The voice was high and shrill, definitely a child. Connor pulled at the, now steel, ropes and tried to slip a hand out. The fire crept closer to himself even as it ate away at the house. It neared his feet and the wooden structure he stood on. He got an idea but it was going to take longer than he wished he could take. He waited for the fire to reach the structure and as the flames climbed up the wooden post, he pulled as hard as he could. The structural integrity was too damaged from the flames and the rope easily dislodged from the beam. He sprinted as fast as he could away from the hang-man structure and pulled off the ropes. Connor ran straight for the front door of the house and up the stairs. The little boy was huddled across the room in a corner, tears streaming down his cheeks as he cried for help. Connor took a step towards him and the scene changed. 

The house was now his parents. There was a gun sitting on the table across from Nines. He didn’t need an explanation for this one. He gingerly picked up the gun and pointed it at his brother but his finger couldn’t find the trigger. 

Nines gave him a smile, “It’s an easy task, Connor.”

Connor let out a shaky sigh, “I know. I just don’t want to do it.”

He hesitated another moment before closing his eyes and pulling the trigger. There were tears falling down his cheeks that suddenly disappeared with the scene change. The scene could change as fast as it wanted to but the emotions lingered. He’d just shot his brother in a simulation. That wasn’t something a simple location change can fix. 

He opened his eyes and was standing in the training room. Across from him was himself. He raised his left hand and his double did the same. Why was he seeing this? Connor’s mind couldn’t match the vision he was being given with a fear. 

“What are you?” he questioned. 

The double smiled, “I’m everything you truly fear.”

The double was on him in a flash, pinning him to the ground in one Swift motion. Connor brought his knee up into the double’s groin and shoved him off to his side. The double groaned but got up as if nothing had happened. Connor kicked him in the stomach but he grabbed Connor’s foot and pulled, making him lose his balance. Connor fell back on his old move of grabbing the double by his legs and pulling. The double fell with a shout and a groan. Connor kicked him in the side of his head, making the double groan again. 

But then he started to laugh, “You think you can simply fight me away? No, Connor. You’re stuck with me forever.”

The double faded away and with him, the simulation. 

—-

Connor sat up in the chair with a gasp to a round of applause. He stepped down from the chair on the platform and was greeted by Hank. 

“Congratulations, Connor, you made it through.”

Connor gave him a forced smile before stepping past over to the door. 

“One more thing!” Leo shouted. 

He approached him with what looked like a staple gun, “We’re giving everyone a tracker. Hold still.”

The wicked glint in his eye made Connor tense as he suddenly raised the device to his neck and pulled the trigger. Connor felt a sharp pain and his hand flew to the spot as he gasped. Leo was still smiling as he turned and dismissed him. Connor saw Hank glaring at the young leader through the whole interaction. 

—-

Everyone in Dauntless was gathered in the pit to see which initiates would become members and which would become factionless. The air in the room felt electrified with anxiety and anticipation. Some initiates were confident they’d be above the line and others were staring with obvious fear at the large, unlit scoreboard. Connor found himself staring into space as his friends talked and laughed. His skin had been crawling all afternoon with the thought that the leaders had discovered his divergence. The group had stopped trying to include him in the conversation a few minutes ago since it was obvious he wasn’t listening. Time seemed to slow as Fowler stepped up in front of the faction. The room went silent which was even more terrifying from the score board. The pit, always full of life and laughter, was now a stirring pot of anxiety. 

“Our initiates have trained tirelessly for this moment. Strengthening their bodies and their minds so they are ready to protect our great city. But only ten may become members. We only hold places for the strongest in Dauntless. For those of you who have made the cut, welcome. For those of you who did not, the final train leaves in twenty minutes. I suggest saying your goodbyes quickly.”

Fowler’s final warning echoed out as the scoreboard lit up. The names didn’t light one by one this time. Instead they all appeared at once. Connor’s eyes skimmed to the first spot and found his name still aglow in white. Relief washed over him as he found Nines in the fifth spot. Nines wrapped an arm over his shoulders as he cheered. Connor looked over to see a bright smile on his brother’s face. The happiness was contagious and Connor found himself cheering along with the others. He’d made it. He was safe!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for being late I was watching my biggest source of seratonin die yesterday and had no time to finish the ending of this chapter.  
> So we have FINALLY ending the rising action of this story! Hassah! I’m not one hundred percent on how this chapter ended so I might edit it later BUT I was way too excited to start writing the next chapter to worry about it at 4 am when I finished it. Writing the rear sims is so much fun. Also, if you are a heavy rain fan you may have noticed the nod to the second task in this chapter.  
> But anyways, thanks for reading.  
> And for anyone else who was there,  
> Momento Mori.  
> Unus Annus.
> 
> If you enjoyed, leave a comment or a kudos! Thank you!!! <3


	13. Shadow Of Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The climax of our story begins (Aka the good kush of the story)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title for today is inspired by the song Through The Valley by Shawn James!

The clomp of boots on the ground woke Connor that morning. The room was dimly lit but he could see everyone moving in silent unison. Connor quietly shifted so he was sitting on the edge of his bed like the rest before reaching out for Nines. 

“Nines, what’s going on?” the question was hastily whispered but his brother didn’t even raise his head from where he was looking at his boots. 

Connor changed as fast as he could and put on his boots, trying to catch up with the robotic movements of the others. He pulled on his jacket last and the collar brushed over a sensitive spot on his neck. Connor remembered Leo injecting him with something the night before. Connor’s breath suddenly caught in his throat. Erudite had started the simulation early. 

The others rose silently and Connor fell into careful step behind Nines. As they marched down the hallway they merged into a long line of every Dauntless member. The line weaved down the path and into the pit where large crates lined the path they were taking. A small group was standing behind the crates and as Connor stepped closer he realized it was the leaders. They were acting as if this was normal. The line slowed as each member took something, a gun, out of the crate and loaded it. Connor could clearly hear what the leaders were saying over the synchronized footsteps. 

“We sent two small groups to sweep the apartments and dorms for any Divergents trying to hide,” Leo was saying. 

“Good,” Fowler replied. 

Hank scuffed his boot against the ground, “I just don’t see why we are doing this now. It wasn’t supposed to be for a few more days.”

“Amanda got word that a few Abnegation seemed to be planning something and wanted to go before it was too late,” Fowler replied. 

There was a shriek from the entrance tunnel and a Dauntless came in, stone faced, dragging a terrified woman along with them. She struggled against their grip and tried to escape but the person was as stiff as a machine following orders. As she came closer Connor realized it was Jay. And they were dragging Ghost. 

Connor saw Leo grin, “Got one.”

Jay pushed Ghost in front of the leaders. She looked terrified. She was Divergent.

“Well, you know what to do,” Fowler said, gesturing between Jay and Ghost before returning his attention to the line of Duantless. 

It was only a second before Jay raised their gun to Ghost’s head and fired. Connor jumped. He couldn’t breathe. He only faintly registered the crate on his right and tried his best to mimic the other’s movements with shaky hands. If he made one wrong step they’d kill him on sight. He matched his footsteps to the others as they once again marched forward. His eyes caught Hank’s for a moment as he passed and the leader’s eyes were full of concern. 

Connor turned his eyes forward and dropped all emotion from his face. He blankly stared at his brother’s hair and focused his mind on his every muscle and joint. Each part of him moved in perfect synchronization with everyone else. They walked outside towards the train, everything glowing yellow with the dawn. The train was stopped and Dauntless were filing in carefully, one by one. Connor carefully planned his steps into the train and stood in the straight line row by Nines. Every row was perfectly spaced and straight. Like lines of code on a computer. Connor relaxed only slightly as the train began to move, taking him away from the piercing eyes of the leaders and into the city. The steady hum of the train was the only sound. 

They were heading for Abnegation. Connor was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that North had no idea the plan was beginning early. He also had no idea which house she would be in. The train slowed to a stop and one by one they disembarked. A sea of black stretched over the thin road to Abnegation. Connor had only just stepped off the train when he heard the first gun shot. He walked a little faster knowing they were no longer moving in unison. The Abnegation houses are plain, simple gray blocks for simple, kind people. He walked down the rows of houses, watching as people were torn from their homes. Connor blankly watched as children screamed as their parents were pulled away. He passed a woman crying to be spared as she clutched at her stomach, a bump showing where a baby was growing. A father called out for his daughter seconds before she was shot. 

Connor could hardly hold back his tears but the other Dauntless just continued following orders as if everything was okay. He turned down the side block of one of the houses, looking for any sign of his friend when he saw Leo standing in front of Gavin and Nines. Fowler approached from within the house beside them. Connor once again attempted to drop all emotion from his face as he quietly walked forward and stopped around the side of the house. 

Leo laughed as he waved a hand in front of Gavin’s face, “Damn! If I’d have known I could just shoot him up with a serum to shut him up I’d have done it ages ago! Look at him!” 

Leo looked Gavin up and down, “Top of your class and all for what? To become a mindless machine.”

Leo stopped talking before turning to Fowler, “What if I ordered him to shoot this one?” Leo gestured to Nines, “Can you imagine his face when he wakes up? And that stupid brother of his would lose his shit.”

Leo laughed at his own cruel joke as Fowler shrugged, “Waste of a bullet if you ask me but I won’t stop you.”

Leo smiled wickedly before standing in front of Gavin. Connor’s feet moved before he could think. He couldn’t let Leo do this. In a flash he was on top of Leo, his foot driving into his back. A shot went off and Connor felt a bullet drive into his left shoulder, pain racing through his veins. He shifted his gun and aimed it at Leo’s forehead, his nose streaming blood from where he’d hit it against the ground. But Leo didn’t look the least bit concerned. Instead he just smiled as three others aimed their guns at Connor. 

“You know I always thought you were weird,” Leo said before standing, Connor’s gun following him the whole way up. 

Fowler nodded and both Gavin and Nines grabbed his arms and dragged him into the house Fowler had come out of. Nines would never mean to hurt him but the way he shoved Connor’s arm sent pain coursing through him again and he bit back a groan. Adrenaline had dulled the initial hit but now as he was shoved into the gray house he could feel every tendon in his arm on fire. 

Inside the house was a wall of computers and three people. The first was a woman he didn’t recognize in a periwinkle blue suit with short, red hair. She was working with the computers on the wall. The second was a face he’d long feared seeing in person again. Amanda was busying herself with a blinking tablet covered in lines of strange code. The third person made Connor’s heart lurch. Markus was also looking at the computers on the wall. Connor didn’t know if seeing Markus here was a blessing of a curse. After all, it’s not like he could do anything without exposing himself. 

Markus was the first to notice him and as their gazes met his eyes went wide with fear. Connor hung his head in shame. He’d made a promise to help Markus and failed. Instead he was probably going to die for being Divergent. Fowler cleared his throat and Amanda looked up. 

“You found one?”

Fowler nodded and for the first time, Amanda looked at Connor. He looked up and immediately regretted it. Her gaze was cold and cruel. It made Connor feel like a big under a microscope. She approached him slowly and looked him over. 

“I remember you. Connor Fair. Samantha and Colin’s son,” she hummed disapprovingly, “What would they say if they saw you now?”

Connor once again found himself looking at the floor. He didn’t entirely know why since he already knew his parents hated Divergents, but hearing it out loud changed something. Amanda placed a hand under his chin and raised his eyes to meet hers. As he looked at her again his thoughts changed. Now was not the time to feel shame. 

He pulled his face away from her grasp, “Why are you doing all of this?”

He knew why. He just wanted to prove he was brave enough to ask. 

“Why is none of your concern.”

“Enlighten me.”

Amanda’s face changed for a moment as she considered the question, her expression showing her surprise at his persistence, “I see you still have that Erudite curiosity. Abnegation has been harboring Divergents and working to undermine the faction system. What we are doing is eliminating the threat and restoring the peace.”

“By murdering innocent people and controlling an entire faction against their will?”

“By using the resources at my disposal to find the threat to our existence and eradicate it.”

She viewed Dauntless as nothing more than disposable pawns and did all this to get Abnegation out of power. Amanda reached to his shoulder and pressed a finger to where he’d been shot. Connor’s vision went white with pain and he screamed. She pulled her hand away and his vision slowly returned. 

“Did you really need to shoot him?”

Fowler shrugged, “He was going to shoot Leo. I had no choice.”

She sighed as she wiped her hand on a paper towel, “Well the wound is too deep to get clear results. He’d be of no use to us.”

“So what do you want me to do?”

She thought for a moment, “You can dispose of him. There are other test subjects that aren’t injured.”

Amanda nodded to Fowler before turning back to her tablet. It was easy for them to pull him where they wanted him to go. His eyes were still blurry with pain and his muscles were on fire. They pulled and pushed him into the house next door where a tall glass cell was waiting. They pushed him in and locked the door and that’s when Connor saw the water pipes. He snapped out of his daze and turned back towards the door, pounding his fists against the glass.

“Nines! Nines please! You have to wake up!” he yelled as loud as he could but his brother didn’t respond, “Gavin! Please! Don’t leave me here!”

He thought his friend stalled for a moment but his mind must have played tricks on him because seconds later he found himself alone. Connor kicked at the glass trying to break it as water started pouring in. But it was no use. Connor noticed a camera watching him from one corner of the room. They were watching him. Connor took a step back from the glass and raised his middle finger at the camera before sitting against the far wall, the water halfway to his knees, sitting down. 

They had known all along that he was Divergent. They must have built this based on his fear landscape. They just wanted to watch him suffer and try to fight off his impending doom. Well there would be no show for them now. No entertainment as he begged for his life. Not enjoyment as they watched him try to escape. He wouldn’t give them the pleasure of watching him fight for his life again after weeks of a fruitless struggle. The water slowly rose to his shoulders, the cold water stinging within the bullet hole in his shoulder. In the end he’d die to one of the very things he feared the most. He just hoped Nines wouldn’t remember causing it. 

The water started rising faster, like whoever was running the water was getting bored. Good. Connor refused to stand as it rose over his head and continued rising. Slowly he began to float away from the bottom. His lungs ached for air that Connor refused to go for. Slowly, he felt his mind go fuzzy. This was really it. He closed his eyes and waited to drift off. 

But there was a bang and all the water surged forward, taking him with it. He found himself gasping for air on the ground. An arm wrapped around him and helped him out of the area of broken glass and water. His vision returned and he found Markus’s green and blue eyes staring back at him. 

“Oh thank god you’re alive. I was worried I was too late.”

Connor looked around and saw the camera smashed on the ground next to a large piece of wood with a long nail sticking out of it.

“You saved me?”

“Of course I did! You think I was just going to let you die?”

Connor shrugged, “I dunno. You barely know me.”

“I know you have people who care about you. I know those people would be devastated if you died. And I know that even though we don’t know each other well, it’s impossible to get to know a dead person.”

Markus helped Connor to his feet and handed him a dry towel, “I snuck this out when I came to save you.”

Connor rubbed the towel over his hair and clothes to stop the dripping before tossing it away, “Where do I go from here?”

“Simon escaped with the group I told you about. They’re at the warehouse now waiting for you or me. I told them to listen to whoever came first.”

“North?”

Markus nodded, “She’s with them.”

“So here’s where we split up?”

“One more thing. A friend of yours said he wanted to help. I told him I was coming to save you. He’s around the back of this house.”

“Who was it?”

“I didn’t ask.”

Connor nodded before Markus pulled him into a hug. Connor would have stopped him had he been given any warning since he was still soaked but he hugged him back all the same. 

“Please be careful,” Markus whispered. 

“I will,” came Connor’s quiet reply. 

Markus let him go and they split off in different directions outside. Connor slowly came around the side of the building, wondering who could have wanted to help him. All his friends were under the simulation. He peered around the corner and found a familiar leader standing there. 

“Hank?”

He turned and looked at Connor, fear melting from his expression, “Fucking hell, Connor. I thought you were dead.”

For the second time in under five minutes, Connor found himself being hugged with no warning whatsoever. This hug was shorter and when Hank stepped away the first thing he did was hand him a gun. 

“So where to?”

Connor took the weapon and made sure it was loaded, “There’s a warehouse where some people are hiding. Corner of eighty-sixth and elm.”

Hank nodded, “Lead the way.”

They hastily made their way out of the Abnegation sector and into the streets. A few tanks were lazily patrolling the main roads so Connor and Hank stuck to the alleys. It was only a matter of time before they were spotted. Gunshots rang out behind them and they ducked into a doorway. Connor aimed but didn’t fire. These were innocent people who had no control over their bodies. 

“Those shots will draw others, we have to take them down!” Hank said, aiming his own gun and firing at the first Dauntless. 

Connor tried to shake away the feeling and shot down the soldier closest to him. More shots fired from the other end of the alley so Hank turned to deal with them. Connor shot two of the three remaining but stopped at the third. Chris was aiming his gun at him. He fired a shot but Connor ducked back and it hit the wall where he’d just been. Connor leaned back out. He could aim for his leg but he’d just fire from the ground. He’d have to aim for his arm so he couldn’t fire anymore. Chris’s finger touched the trigger but Connor fired first aiming for his shoulder. But he didn’t hit his shoulder. Instead Connor watched as the bullet hit him in his chest and watched his friend fall to the ground. 

Connor froze. He couldn’t make his body move. Hank shot the last soldier on his end and turned to Connor. 

“We’re clear, we have to go.”

Connor didn’t move, his eyes trained on the blood pooling beneath Chris, “I killed him...” he trailed off. 

Hank followed his gaze. His eyes rested on Chris’s body before he pulled Connor to look at him, “Connor, listen to me. We have to go. I know you need time but we don’t have it.”

Connor felt tears pooling in his eyes, “I didn’t mean to kill him I just...” he trailed off again, the sentence dying in his throat. 

“If we don’t go now, we’ll die and his death will mean nothing,” Hank said. He didn’t yell but the statement wasn’t a request. 

Connor nodded before silently following Hank, leaving Chris behind. They crossed two more streets before reaching a main road. It was much farther across and the area was completely open. 

“I’ll go first. Cover me if someone sees,” Connor said. 

Hank nodded and Connor darted into the street. He got halfway across before the tank turned the corner. The weapons on the machine weren’t functional but the people were. The soldiers were firing with deadly accuracy as Connor ran for the other side. Hank stepped out and gunned down three soldiers before making it to the other side. They didn’t have time to waste so they kept going. They made it to the next alley and ducked into a doorway so they were out of the line of sight from the street. Connor checked his gun and found he was almost out of bullets. He’d need to steal some if they were planning on making it to the warehouse in one piece. 

“Hank, I’m almost out. I’m gonna try to grab a gun off of one of the Dauntless back there,” he stated, closing the weapon again. 

He looked up to see Hank sitting on the ground. Connor dropped his gun and ran to his side. Hank was pressing a hand to his right side where Connor could see blood seeping through his clothes. Connor fumbled to take off his jacket, looking for anything to press to the wound but Hank raised a hand to stop him. 

“Connor, it’s okay.”

Connor stopped trying to pull off his jacket and stared at Hank.

“I’m just going to go see my son,” Hank said. His voice was calm. He knew there was no saving him. 

Connor shook his head, “I can’t just leave you behind! I can’t lose anyone else.”

Hank didn’t respond. His head was resting limply against his right shoulder and his hands had dropped to the ground. He was gone. Connor let the tears he’d been holding in fall and broke down against the wall opposite Hank. Another person who’s died because of him. Connor could hear the sound of the tank rumbling down the street and forced his feet to move. He wiped his sleeve across his cheeks to dry the tears and took a few shaky deep breaths. There would be time for grieving later. Now he had to make sure their sacrifices weren’t in vain. He quickly searched through Hank’s pockets to find another clip full of bullets and a pocket knife. He shoved them into his jacket before mumbling a quiet goodbye and running down the alley. 

He was only two blocks from the warehouse and when he arrived he found the door unlocked. The warehouse was full of dust and smelled like rotten produce. He carefully stepped down the rows of old shelves until he maneuvered his way to the back of the warehouse were crates had been barricaded around a corner. He hesitantly approached the makeshift hiding place and stopped within their line of sight. 

“My name is Connor. Markus told me you’d be here.”

“Connor!” a voice cried out before he was wrapped in a hug for a third time. 

He hissed as the arms around him pressed too close to the bullet in his shoulder and North quickly stepped away. Connor couldn’t help but smile and pull her back into a hug. She had a black cloth patch over the eye that she’d lost and was wearing simple Abnegation clothes. The way she stood was nothing like her adoptive faction, though. She stood with confidence. 

“It’s so good to see you in one piece, Con.”

“Can you even see with that thing?”

She pushed him away with a laugh, “Okay, ouch.”

He chuckled as well but the moment didn’t last. The small group was a handful of Abnegation, North, and two Erudite men. North wasted no time in turning him around so she could see his injury. 

“Jacket off.”

He did as she commended and she pointed to the crate she’d been sitting on before, “I brought a first aid kit. You sit and I’ll do my best.”

Connor nodded and sat down on the crate, across from the two Erudite. 

“I’m Simon,” the blonde boy said with a wave. 

“Josh,” the other offered his hand to Connor. 

It was an Erudite greeting. Connor obliged and shook his hand lightly. North returned with the first aid kit and stood behind him. She used a small scissors to trim away the edge of the shirt around the hole. 

“Like I said, I’ve never done this before so just hold still.”

“That’s always a comforting statement,” Simon said. 

“Shut up.”

Another young woman, obviously from Abnegation stood, “Maybe I can help.”

North happily handed off the needle and thread, “Be my guest.”

The woman also pulled a pair of tweezers from the kit before taking North’s place, “I’m sorry we have to meet under circumstances like this but my name is Kara.”

“Connor.”

She took a deep breath, “We don’t have anything to numb the pain so this is probably going to hurt a lot. I have to remove the bullet before I can stitch you back up. Maybe try not to scream.”

Connor nodded. North sat down next to him and handed him a towel, “In case you need a hand to squeeze or something to scream into.”

Kara was right. It hurt like hell. Connor could already feel tears welling in his eyes as she first moved the tweezers into his shoulder, trying to pull out the tiny metal bullet. He bit his lip and leg his fists clench trying hard not to react verbally. North gently eased her hand into his and let him squeeze the life from her hand. The pain raced through his body as the metal dug in deeper. He shut his eyes as tight as he could and grit his teeth as Kara quickly pulled the tweezers out. 

“I got it,” she said, triumphantly, dropping the bullet onto the lid of the crate. 

Connor let out a deep breath as Kara threaded the needle. It shouldn’t hurt worse than getting a tattoo. Kara pressed the needle into his skin for the first time and Connor realized. This was nothing like his tattoos. It hurt almost worse than the tweezers and she had to do it multiple times. She wasted no time in quickly stitching closed his wound, trying to make the process go faster for him. After an agonizing two minutes, she tied off the string and stepped back. 

“All done.”

Connor let all of his muscles relax with a sigh and released North’s hand. She stretched it a few times and shook her hand gently. 

“Sorry,” Connor said, watching as she massaged her palm. 

“It’s what you once did for me.”

Connor gave her a small smile and pulled his jacket back on. His arm still felt like it was going to fall off but at least now it would stop bleeding. 

“Markus said we could move when you got here. So where are we going?” Josh asked. 

Connor looked around. No one but himself had weapons and the Abnegation definitely hadn’t been trained to fight. He had no clue what Simon and Josh knew so he and North were the only ones with Dauntless levels of training. In order to save innocent lives they would have to stop the simulation. Meaning fighting their way into Dauntless and stopping it themselves. 

Connor turned to the group, “Who here knows how to fire a gun?”

Simon and Josh both raised their hands and North gave a small wave. One tall Abnegation man, who Connor later learned was named Luther, raised his hand as well. That would give him a team of five. 

“Okay. You four are coming with me to the Dauntless compound. The rest of you need to get on the train, ride it to the end of the line, and then stay there. We’ll meet up with you by sundown.”

One man scoffed, “I’m sorry but who put you in charge? How do we know you can trust you?”

“Liam,” a calm voice reprimanded. 

The voice belonged to Lucy who placed a careful hand on his shoulder, “He is here to help us. I believe we can trust him,” she turned from the man, Liam, and looked to Connor, “Be careful you five.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! ACTION! Okay so I’m a little behind in writing usually I’d be almost done with the next chapter by now but a lot of things happened and I fell behind SO after I finish arc one (Divergent) I might take a few weeks break to get ahead again. Also! For this section of the story the perspectives are gonna change a LOT! This chapter was in Connor’s perspective, next week will go through this chapter again as Markus (because I want that good gay tension) and then after that we’ll have a really switchy chapter and then tada! Divergent is done onto Insurgent!  
> Hope you’ve all enjoyed so far!!!  
> See ya next week!
> 
> If you enjoyed, leave a comment or a Kudos!!! <3


	14. The Other Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Markus’s perspective of these climactic events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note, I literally just finished writing this chapter about a minute and a half ago so I haven’t actually reread it so I’m sorry if there are more spelling mistakes than usual.

The Erudite had an alarm system in case of emergencies. It was this loud, blaring, siren followed by an announcement of where everyone was to go. Markus found himself startled awake and was told to gather in the auditorium. He quickly threw on something that wasn’t pajamas and hurried to the auditorium. He’d only been there twice. On the day he arrived, and the day he became a member. The room was packed with people dressed in blue. As soon as he walked in, Amanda beckoned for him to join her and a small group on stage. The group was Colin, Samantha, Elijah, Chloe, and Vikki. 

“Now that Markus is here, we can begin,” she said to the others as he stepped onto the raised platform. 

“Begin what?” he asked. 

“We got word that a few of the Abnegation had somehow discovered our plan and we’re building a group to escape. We had to move our plans to today so they can’t.”

Markus’s breath caught for a moment before he nodded. Amanda stepped away and up to the mic while Simon searched the crowd for Simon. Amanda started talking about how they would receive their assignments for today’s operation from their tablets in two minutes. Markus found his friend staring at him with terrified eyes and Markus gave him a small nod. If anyone had seen they could brush it off as a simple shift but Simon knew it was for him. As Amanda finished and people headed for the exits, Markus saw him grab Josh’s arm and pull him out a side door alone. 

Amanda turned back to the assembled team, “Now then, Markus and Vikki will be with me in our Abnegation surveillance base. Colin, Samantha, Chloe, and Elijah will be controlling the simulation from our Dauntless base.”

She finished her statement and immediately walked towards the doors, Vikki and Markus following. Vikki hadn’t been on the original team Amanda had told him but then again she was the type of person to withhold information. Ananda wasted no time in leading them both to a car and speeding away from the headquarters. Since they hadn’t had time to make any final plans, the entire operation relied on Simon and Connor. Markus hated the uncertainty in his head, knowing the probability of them escaping was rapidly falling the closer they came. 

Markus had never been to the Abnegation base but he knew it was meant to be a base of operation for the overseers. The control room in Dauntless was reliant on people who knew the coding in the chips and how to send commands at rapid paces. The Abnegation base was for the people making those commands and sending them to the control room. 

“Markus, take left side cameras, Vikki take the right side. If you see anything out of the ordinary run it by me and then send off the commands to Elijah and his team,” Amanda said, handing them each a tablet of their own. 

Vikki nodded and was the first to leave the car. She had definitely been here before, quickly making her way to an unmarked building. Markus followed her and noted that Amanda called someone as soon as she was alone. Definitely withholding information. 

Markus quickly found his place in the base and got to work watching the cameras assigned to him attentively. For a few minutes there was nothing. Then he noticed a few people leave a house looking very suspicious. Simon was lucky he was on Markus’s cameras. Markus made sure no one was watching and hastily looped blank footage for a few minutes until he knew they were gone. 

They had escaped just in time too because just a few minutes later, they could hear the approaching Dauntless. They could hear their feet all marching in unison and the shouts of terrified Abnegation. Instead of getting lost in the fear and sorrow Markus was feeling, he searched the faces for Connor. He knew Connor would be just as caught off guard as they were but he would be stuck in the simulation. If he could find him among the other Dauntless he might be able to release him from the simulation himself. 

There were so many faces on the screen. Blank expressions of the Dauntless and terrified expressions of the Abnegation. Markus choked back his tears as he searched. Connor had to be here somewhere. 

Behind him, a few people entered the house. Markus took one last look at the screen before turning to look. His heart fell to his stomach when he saw Connor. He was being held by two Dauntless soldiers, one who must have been his brother. Markus has never met Richard but he and Connor were identical aside from the few inches taller Richard was. Markus could have easily mistaken one for the other if it weren’t for his eyes. Connor’s eyes were warm brown while his brother’s were an icy blue. 

It was those brown eyes that quickly turned to the ground after Markus saw him. He was ashamed. Markus wanted to reach out to Connor and tell him it wasn’t his fault. Instead he stared as the Dauntless leader cleared his throat. 

Amanda finally acknowledged their presence, “You found one?”

He nodded and Connor looked back up. Markus could see he was terrified. A fear of helplessness. Markus, like the rest of the team, had watched the recordings of all the initiates going through their fear landscapes the day before. He knew all too well Connor was terrified of being helpless. Of failing someone because he couldn’t do anything to help. 

Amanda looked at him like some kind of gross creature that had been dragged in, “I remember you. Connor Fair. Samantha and Colin’s son. What would they say if they saw you now?”

Connor’s head dropped again. Markus bit his lip and pretended to do something on his tablet. How was he supposed to save him? Amanda wanted to run tests on Divergents to see if she could make a simulation to control them. If she didn’t want Connor, there was a tank waiting for him to drown in just a few houses down. No matter the outcome this wasn’t good for Connor. 

“Why are you doing all of this?” Connor’s voice suddenly cut through the quiet house. 

Markus looked back up. The fear he’d shown before was gone from his face. Instead he looked brave. 

“Why is none of your concern,” came Amanda’s answer. 

“Enlighten me.”

There was a moment of consideration before she answered, “I see you still have that Erudite curiosity. Abnegation has been harboring Divergents and working to undermine the faction system. What we are doing is eliminating the threat and restoring the peace.”

“By murdering innocent people and controlling an entire faction against their will?”

“By using the resources at my disposal to find the threat to our existence and eradicate it.”

Amanda placed a hand on Connor’s shoulder and jabbed her finger at something that made him let out a tortured scream. Markus turned away, tears threatening to fall again. This isn’t fair. 

Amanda let out a deep breath, “Did you really need to shoot him?”

The leader shrugged, “He was going to shoot Leo. I had no choice.”

Markus looked back up. Leo was here somewhere. And from the way this leader talked, Leo might be of higher rank in Dauntless than Markus thought. He looked over at Connor to see he was breathing much more heavily and seemed much more exhausted than before. 

Amanda tossed a paper towel into the he trash after wiping her hand on it,“Well the wound is too deep to get clear results. He’d be of no use to us.”

“So what do you want me to do?”

“You can dispose of him. There are other test subjects that aren’t injured.”

Markus watched as the two easily dragged Connor out of the house. One of the cameras on his screen showed the tank as he was pushed in. For a moment he stalled before realizing where he was. Fear covered his expression and he started pounding on the glass. Markus needed an excuse to leave so he could get him out. 

Whatever universal deity was out there must have heard him because Amanda immediately said, “Markus, I’m reassigning you to the main controls in Dauntless. We have it under control here. The car will be outside the sector in five minutes.”

Markus nodded and stepped back from the cameras. Amanda turned around and he slipped a towel off the small cleaning cart against the wall. He stepped outside of the house and looked around. The soldiers were preoccupied on the main road so Markus had a clear path to Connor. He walked as quickly as he could without looking suspicious. As he walked, he passed an old, burned down shed. A few of the boards were only held on by single nails and others were simply lying on the ground. Markus grabbed one with a nail sticking out of one end so he could smash the glass. 

Every second he stood there was a second longer Connor needed to hold his breath. The house was only one ahead of him. He looked around one more time before running for the house. 

“Hey! Wait!”

Markus stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around slowly to see an older Dauntless man coming towards him with a gun. Markus glanced at the wood he was holding and gripped it a bit harder. 

The man held the gun out at Markus, “Where did they take Connor?”

Markus was taken aback by the question. He was expecting the man to question why he was alone in this area. 

“This next house. I’m going to save him now.”

The man lowered his gun and thought for a moment before raising it a bit again, “I want to help him. I’ll be waiting around back. If anything happens to him-“

“Trust me, I’ll get him out.”

The man nodded before the two of them finished the stretch to the house. The tank inside was nearly full. Connor was floating off the ground, eyes closed and limp. Markus wasted no time in quickly slamming the board into the camera before aiming the nail at the glass and swinging as hard as he could. The glass pane shattered after just one hit and the water came rushing out, carrying Connor with it. He fell to the ground coughing and gasping for air and Markus felt relief reach over him. He pulled Connor up and helped him over to an area without glass on the floor. Connor blinked his eyes open and Markus had never been happier to see brown eyes looking into his. 

“Oh thank god you’re alive. I was worried I was too late.”

Connor looked at the smashed camera before looking back at him. 

“You saved me?”

Markus was baffled by the question, “Of course I did! You think I was just going to let you die?”

He shrugged, “I dunno. You barely know me.”

“I know you have people who care about you. I know those people would be devastated if you died. And I know that even though we don’t know each other well, it’s impossible to get to know a dead person.”

He helped Connor steady himself on his feet before giving him the towel, “I snuck this out when I came to save you.”

Connor dried himself off a bit and tossed the cloth away. His hair was a mess and Markus had to admit it was kind of adorable. He mentally slapped himself. He barely knew Connor and they were in the middle of a battle. Now was not the time. 

“Where do I go from here?”

“Simon escaped with the group I told you about. They’re at the warehouse now waiting for you or me. I told them to listen to whoever came first.”

“North?”

Markus nodded, “She’s with them.”

“So here’s where we split up?”

Markus remembered the man he’d met outside, “One more thing. A friend of yours said he wanted to help. I told him I was coming to save you. He’s around the back of this house.”

“Who was it?”

“I didn’t ask.”

Despite Connor’s still dripping clothes, Markus grabbed him in a hug. Connor hesitated a moment before Markus felt his arms on his back. 

Markus whispered into his shirt, “Please be careful.”

There was no hesitation in the reply, “I will.”

Markus left the house in the opposite direction of Connor, heading immediately towards the city, out of Abnegation. Amanda’s car was waiting for him already. He knew he was a few minutes past when the car arrived but getting in, the driver said nothing. Now Markus needed to find a way to shut down the simulation from the inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m going to be honest, I SUCK at writing Markus’s perspective. But I wanted to write this section from him so you guys could get some extra information from what he was doing during this part. Next chapter is the final Divergent chapter! I am so excited to dive in to Insurgent and have many plans. 
> 
> If you enjoyed, leave a comment or a kudos!!! <3


	15. No Rest In War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The grand finale of the first book.

The team of five left ten minutes before the group would go to the train. Connor carefully leads them back to the alley where he and Hank had fought off a wave of soldiers. 

“You need to lose the colors. We have a better chance of slipping in if we look Dauntless. We also need guns. Take the jackets and guns off the soldiers and whatever bullets you can find. Hopefully, no one notices your pants don’t match,” Connor said, his eyes drifting to Josh and Simon’s bright blue dress pants. 

Connor kept his eyes trained forward as they passed where he’d left Hank, his breath catching for a moment. He had to be brave. He heard North gasp quietly behind him before they crossed once more. Three soldiers lay dead in the middle of the road and they pulled the two men and one woman over to the other side. Connor stood guard as Simon, Luther, and North grabbed what they could from the bodies. Connor noticed that Luther hesitated before grabbing the man’s jacket, whispering what seemed to be a quiet prayer for the fallen Dauntless before continuing. 

Once they’d taken what they could, North stood guard while Simon and Connor ran to the other end of the alley to find one last Dauntless. Simon quickly shed his blue blazer and tossed it aside, trading it for the black leather jacket the soldier had been wearing. 

Once they were ready, they ran the three blocks to the Dauntless bound train. Connor had learned there were two trains always running. One train, the one they were running to, ran all around the city and ended near Amity. The other train was meant for Amity produce and ran from the center of the city to Amity. That was the train the other group would have just gotten on. 

”You’ll have to get a running start if you wanna make it!” North shouted over her shoulder. 

Connor was the first to make it to the train. He ran parallel to one of the cars for a moment before jumping and grabbing onto the handle, jabbing the button to open the doors. Each door slowly slid open allowing North and Simon to jump in next. Simon leaned out to help Josh and Luther threw himself into the last car. They all paused for a moment to let the adrenaline settle. Connor leaned out of the side of the train car, watching as they left this section of broken buildings behind. 

The wind was cool on his face and soothed some of his nerves. For a moment he thought about what it would be like to let go of the rail. The tracks had slowly risen above the ground meaning falling here would mean death. If he let go now he'd leave it all behind. He could see Hank again. He could leave the problems of Chicago to the others. But he couldn't. He pulled himself back into the train with that thought. He couldn't just leave it all behind. He had to lead this group and then he had to keep going. He needed to make up for the mistakes he'd made. For the people who had died because of him. There was blood on his hands. It was a thick, deep river of guilt and he needed to stay and atone for it. 

Simon cleared his throat as the lull became too heavy, ”So what's the plan from here?”

Connor snapped back to reality, ”When we reach the compound we need to get to the second-floor corridor. Down that tunnel is a big set of doors. The main controls are in there.”

”There will be guards. How are we to deal with them?” Luther spoke up.

Connor let out a breath, ”That's the hard part. If and when we find soldiers under the simulation, we’ll probably have to shoot them.”

”We can't do that! They're innocent people! They aren't in control of their minds!” Josh exclaimed. 

”If someone is shooting at you to kill you’re saying you won't shoot back?” North said, her tone deadly serious.

Josh’s tone was just as serious though lacking North’s venom, ”I don’t want to take any lives. These are good people with families and friends who care about them. Who am I to just take that away?”

Connor felt a lump growing in his throat as Josh unknowingly put a voice to the guilt in his mind. North scoffed at Josh’s sentiment. 

Simon waited for both parties to close their mouths before adding his thoughts, ”While I agree with Josh’s morals on this, North is right. If we don't shoot back then we’ll die and no one will stop the sim.”

“And where does Markus fall in all of this?” North questioned, her gaze turning to Connor.

“I don’t know. I didn’t have time to ask.”

“So what I’m hearing is, it’s five of us against an army of them trying to shut down a simulation run by the big scary Erudite faction,” Simon and Josh shared a glance at that, ”And we have no clue where Markus is?” North said.

Connor slowly nodded as silence draped over the group again. They were getting close to the roof they'd get off at. Connor slung his gun over his shoulders before leaning back out. 

”Alright, first things first we need to get off this train.”

”And how does that work?” Josh said, his voice laced with apprehension.

”Same way we got on. You jump.”

Connor didn't waste time to hear his argument before taking a running leap out of the train and onto the roof. This time he stumbled for a few steps but didn't fall. North and Luther jumped next. Simon and Josh jumped last together, rolling as they hit the ground. They brushed themselves off and Connor directed them to the ledge.

”There’s a net at the bottom. Don't think, just jump.”

Connor was once again the first person to step off the roof. The end rushed around him, cradling his body as he fell. For a moment he felt weightless. Then he hit the net. The ropes stung against the bullet hole in his shoulder but he quickly rolled off. Josh came next. Then Luther, then Simon, and last North. North showed the three non-Dauntless how to load their guns. Once everyone was ready, they moved as quietly as possible to the end of the tunnel. 

They only had to go one floor to reach the second-floor corridor. Connor stopped them without a word at the end and peered out. No soldiers in the pit. He silently waved them up the path to the second floor and looked into the tunnel. Connor would have almost been relieved to see a guard. Instead, he saw an empty tunnel. There were no soldiers in between them and the door. Either the Erudite were far more stupid than they thought or they weren't showing all their cards just yet. 

”Is it just me or is the fact that there appear to be zero soldiers guarding this place worse than if there had been an army?” North whispered to Connor. 

”No, it's not just you,” Connor whispered back. 

He turned back to the group he was leading, ”Alright, North and are going in there. You guys stand guard out here. If anything goes bad, you get as loud as you can and we’ll come running.”

The three nodded before dividing around the corridor. Simon and Josh took either sides of the door and Luther took the end of the hall near the pathway up. Simon input the password into the room, a simple sequence of numbers Markus had told him in case he needed it, and they quietly eased the door open. 

The room inside was wide open with computers lining the back wall. On the left wall, there were a few more computers but these seemed to be dedicated to making chemical compounds that were being produced on the right wall. There was a small group of Erudite working inside, three were working at the cameras, one was at the left computers, and one was on the right mixing something. Connor and North shared a look before pointing their guns at the scientists. 

”Hands off the computers!” shouted North. 

They all turned to see the two of them and Connor recognized every face in front of him. On his right was his mother. On his left was a woman named Chloe. In front of him stood Elijah Kamski, Connor's father, and Markus. 

”Connor put the gun down,” his father sternly told him.

Connor moved his gun slightly to the left to point directly at him, ”Why should I?”

”Because I am your father. I’m not the enemy here.”

”I thought it was faction before blood?” Connor said, sarcasm dripping in his voice. 

”Connor watch out!” Markus shouted but before he could move, he felt a syringe jab into his neck. 

He quickly grabbed the knife hidden in his pocket and turned, stabbing the person standing there and twisting the knife. His mother’s blood poured over his hands as she gasped for air through the pain. The fear and adrenaline that had just clouded his vision disappeared in an instant as his mother collapsed into his arms. His weapons dropped from his hands as he tried to do something to stop the bleeding. She mumbled something and her breathing slowed to a stop. Connor didn't realize he was sobbing. 

I never wanted this! I didn't want to kill her!

”Look that you did,” Connor was used to hearing that scolding tone from his father. 

He looked up, fumbling for his gun again through his shaking. His father moved quickly pressing a few keys before he or North could get a shot off. 

His vision went fuzzy and the room spun. Then there was suddenly no room. Connor found himself in a garden. Peaceful and alone with no memory of where he had been before. Connor wandered around the garden, listening to the water flowing and the birds singing in the trees. Everything smelled as perfect as it looked. 

This must have been what the world was like a long time ago. 

Not even his greatest fantasies could dream up a place as perfect as this. He crossed a shining white bridge to the center island of the garden where a great glass canopy rose into the sky, expanding from a pillar of clear crystal in the center. There was a trellis of roses along one side being tended to by a woman. Connor recognized her and for the first time, he felt completely calm speaking to her. 

”Hello, Amanda.”

She turned, leaving the rose she was tending to behind, ”Connor! It's good to see you!” her voice was light and kind. Much different than what he had expected.

”How are you?”

Connor felt his whole being slump for a moment, ”Tired. I just want it all to be over.”

She reached out and laid a gentle hand on his cheek, ”Soon. But first, we need to finish what you started.”

She almost reminded him of his mother at that moment, using the same voice she had used to motivate him when he didn't want to do his homework as a kid. Connor didn't want to disappoint her. She was counting on him.

\---

Markus felt like the room was moving in slow motion. His vision was so hyper-focused on Connor he didn't notice Samantha moving to inject him with the serum. He didn't notice Colin inputting the commands to start the simulation. And he couldn't make his feet move as Connor stopped mid-movement and raise his gun to North’s head. North, however, moved quite swiftly disarming her friend and attempting to incapacitate him. He had to do something. Markus turned to the computer in front of him and started searching for the Divergent simulation commands. There was a click of a gun and Markus looked up to see Colin holding a gun at him. 

”I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Markus.”

Markus slowly raised his hands from the computer, ”Colin, I just want to save him. I just want to save innocent lives.”

Colin flicked the safety off, ”The simulation is already underway, Markus. There’s no stopping it.”

”We are killing innocent people!”

“We are saving the faction system! The Divergents are a threat to everything! You are a threat to everything!”

“He’s your son!”

”He is not my son! My sons betrayed me! They left our faction! That boy over there is nothing more than a Divergent who killed my wife and tore apart my family!”

Elijah, who had been silent through all of this, cleared his throat. They both turned to him to see he had a gun of his own. 

Does everyone here have a gun but me?

”I’d advise putting the gun down, Mr. Fair.”

Markus heard a loud crash behind him and turned his head to see Connor had thrown North into the computers. Chloe had taken cover under the desk unit in the corner. Markus looked between Colin and Elijah before diving at Connor. 

He wrapped his arms around Connor, doing his best to keep him still, but Connor pulled him over his shoulders and he landed on the ground hard. Markus felt all the wind rush out of his lungs and struggled to breathe for a moment. Connor lunged for the gun North had dropped and Markus grabbed his ankle, trying to pull him away. Connor stumbled for a moment but it wasn't enough to keep him from the weapon. He gripped the gun firmly and pointed the barrel down at Markus. The rest of the room disappeared as Markus focused only on Connor. His eyes were darkened and cloudy. His hands tightened on the handle, his finger hovering over the trigger. 

“Connor, I know you’re in there,” Markus whispered. 

He slowly moved a hand to Connor’s hand on the gun but Connor quickly shoved it away.

“You don’t have to listen to them, anymore.”

For a moment, the finger resting threateningly on the trigger lifted before settling back down. 

“I know you can fight it.”

—-

Those eyes. They were so familiar. Connor couldn’t remember where he’d seen those eyes before. Striking blue and green. A muffled voice reached his ears pleading with him. Telling him he didn’t have to listen. 

Listen to who? Amanda? But he wanted to listen to her. She was kind. She wanted to help. She wanted to save innocent people.

“Be careful you five,” the memory whispered through his head.

It was faint and cloudy but the voice telling him to be careful seemed familiar. 

”No, please don't leave me!” another memory clawed at his brain, reaching through the fog. 

The ghost of arms wrapping around wet clothing and a muffled, “Please be careful.”

”Connor, it’s okay.”

Memories pounding against the red walls keeping him in. 

”I know you can fight it.”

It wasn't an order. It was an olive branch. 

The red shattered around his brain and he remembered those eyes. For a moment he didn't move, his memory catching up with where he was. He blinked a few times and softened his expression hoping Markus would get it. 

He did. Markus nodded ever so slightly, telling Connor to go. Connor moved the gun from Markus to Chloe who was the only Erudite in the room who didn't already have a gun on them. 

”Oh good, I was hoping you'd get out of that,” Kamski said calmly before flicking the safety off his gun. 

“Wait please!” Colin cowered away from the gun, “I don’t want to die.”

Elijah looked over at Connor, “It’s your call.”

Colin looked at his son with terrified eyes. Connor wanted to pretend he wouldn’t care if he fired, but he would. 

“Let him go,” Connor said, not moving his own gun. 

Colin scrambled away, running out the door. He would probably go for help. Chloe slowly crept from her hiding place. 

“Elijah, what are you doing? They’re going to destroy our research!”

“My research, darling,” Elijah didn’t waste a moment before shooting her. 

Both Connor and Markus jumped at the sound. 

Markus spoke first, ”Elijah… Why?”

Kamski didn't respond to him though. Instead, he directed his gaze at Connor, ”I never liked your dad, Connor. Always came off as too much of a follower and not much of a leader. Everyone needs to lead at some point. He never would. Always Amanda’s lapdog. And her,” he waved his gun in Chloe’s direction, ”I never liked. I was practically betrothed to her the second we graduated at first and second ranks. Everyone said we were a perfect couple. Everyone was wrong. 

”She, much like your dad, was a lapdog. Whatever I said she did. Never thought for herself. A perfect machine. No one can fall in love with someone like that. No offense to your mom, of course, she was very smart and Sam was the only one he ever really gave directions to. When he wasn't listening to Amanda or me or even Markus, he was working with her. They really did find things to love about each other. But Chloe and I could never have had that. Can't love someone with no personality.”

He tossed the gun to the side, ”But excuse me monologuing, I believe you came to shut down and erase all my precious work.”

He leaned against one of the desks. Connor hadn't moved the gun from him through his whole speech. 

Kamski raised his hands, ”Apologies, I wasn't clear. You'll get no resistance from me.”

They still didn't move.

Kamski looked at one of the live feeds. It was of Gavin, standing in front of a group of Abnegation.

Kamski looked back over at Connor and gave a slight nod to the feed, ”He’s a good actor, isn't he?”

Markus and Connor shared a look. A look that said ’what the hell?’

”If you want to shut it down, Markus, I’ll tell you the code. 313 248 317-51.”

Markus took a deep breath, ”Connor, go help North. I’ll shut it down.”

Connor watched attentively as Markus approached the computer and didn't move until he laid his hands on the keys and started typing. 

Connor slung the gun over his back and dropped next to North. He pressed two fingers to her wrist and found a pulse. Not dead. Just unconscious. 

”North, I’m so sorry,” Connor mumbled, wiping the small trail of blood off her forehead with his sleeve. 

He checked her for other injuries before gently tucking one arm under her legs and one around her back. She was lighter than he expected. There was a loud beep from the computers by Markus and all the cameras shut off simultaneously. He grabbed a small flash drive from the side before turning to Connor. 

”It's gone. Only thing left is the footage from the cameras and it's right here,” he waved the drive before tucking it into the inner pocket of his jacket.

”Then we need to go.” 

Kamski held up a hand before pushing off the desk and opening a cabinet, perfectly hidden in the wall, ”The people are waking up. I doubt you'll find much resistance within the compound but outside is going to be a warzone. You'll want more than one half-loaded gun.”

He pulled two handguns and a rifle out of the hidden artillery and handed them to Markus. Markus strapped the rifle to his back and loaded the handgun. He extended the other to Connor before remembering he couldn't shoot carrying North. Instead, he carefully slipped the other gun into his waistband, mentally reminding himself to give it to him later. Kamski nodded at the door before returning to his spot against the desk. Connor and Markus wasted no time getting out the door. 

”Well?” Simon called over his shoulder. 

”The simulation is down,” Markus replied. the flash drive would be better kept a secret. The lass people who knew the better. 

Simon and Josh turned to the familiar voice and some of their anxiety dissipated. 

”Glad to see you're alive,” Simon joked. 

Connor’s muscles were slowly growing tired of carrying North. The sooner they left the better, ”Hate to break up the reunion but if we don't go soon I'm going to drop her.”

Markus nodded, ”Right. We need to move. There's probably people on the way to us now that they know the sim is down.”

”Guess war doesn’t stop just cause we won the battle,” Josh said. 

The group went as fast as they could up the path to the train. As they burst into the outside, they could hear the slowly growing sound of the tank coming. 

Markus looked at his watch. A train came by Dauntless approximately every hour. The universe had great timing because it was one minute away. 

”Go! Get to the train and don’t stop until you’re on! It’ll be here any second.”

”Markus! Get the doors!” Connor shouted as they started running alongside the tracks. 

The train grew steadily closer until the wind rushed along with them. Markus followed the direction and jumped up, pressing the door button. Once he was in, he quickly turned to help Connor get North in. Simon, Josh, and Luther we're easily able to hoist themselves in. The train slowly gained speed and went away from the compound. 

Markus slumped against the wall by the door he'd gotten in through. He distracted his mind with whatever her read about the trains in the city. The end of the line was a two-hour ride from Dauntless since this train rode in a snake through the city. There were two different tracks with a total of five trains always running. Two on the direct circuit from the city to Amity and three on the snake. By the time they reached the end, it would be dusk. Markus dropped his head against the wall. His mind drifted to Carl. Did he know about all of this? Or was he as blind to this truth as Markus had once been? 

Markus looked over to where Connor was helping North wake up. She was holding her head in her hands and he had her wrapped in a hug. Simon and Josh were deep in some conversation already on the other side of the car and Luther was simply looking off dramatically into the distance. Markus stood and leaned on the bar at the edge of the door, looking out over the broken part of the city they were passing. There was already so much broken in their city and now the people were shattered. 

”How you holding up, Markus?”

Markus turned to Connor's voice as he took the spot next to him in the doorway. 

”I’m trying. I feel like all my emotions just came crashing down in an instant when we got on the train. How about you?”

Connor shrugged, ”I just can't help but wonder where Nines is. My mom is dead. My dad is a traitor. The factions are in shambles. And he's alone.”

Markus gave him a moment before saying, “And how about you? What are you feeling?”

Connor hung his head a little, “A lot. I’m feeling a lot.”

He let the statement end there. Markus decided not to press him for answers, it wasn’t fair to ask him to spill his guts to someone he barely knew. 

Markus looked back out at the city, “I just want to know if my father knows. You’d think as a faction leader he’s know about these things but-“

“But Erudite is no Candor,” Connor finished. 

“Erudite is no Candor,” Markus repeated. 

They stood in heavy silence for a minute, the hum of the train filling the void. 

“So where do we go from here?” Connor said, turning once again to Markus for leadership. 

“Amity. Hopefully the other group made it. I know their representative, Rose. She’ll help us.”

Connor nodded. Reality was a heavy thing. They were factionless. They had nowhere to go. They didn’t know who to trust. They had to depend on each other when most of them barely knew each other. Markus couldn’t help but think there was a long road ahead. 

But for now they’d ride the train to the end of the line. 

And then, they’d jump.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s the end!  
> Of part one......  
> I will not be separating this across different works so do not fret, this is the only story you will need to keep an eye on. I’m sorry I made you all wait one more day I had a few kinks to iron out. I will not be elaborating much on this chapter since I want to let it all sink in but I hope you all enjoyed!  
> As for me, I’m going to take a few weeks break. It’s midterm season and I am overly stressed already. I will (hopefully) return with the new year on a new Saturday update schedule. If for some reason I am not back the first week of January, I will be returning before February. Feel free to drop a comment to keep me in line if it gets towards the end of the month and I haven’t returned or updated.   
> Happy holidays to you all and a Happy end to 2020!  
> I’ll see you all soon!
> 
> If you enjoyed, leave a comment or a kudos!!! <3


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